COLUMBUS, Ohio _ It's getting to be comical at this point, in only the way that gallows humor can be funny.
The Blue Jackets are losing players at an astounding rate, and the affliction doesn't seem close to letting up. Already short seven players, the Jackets had another two drop out Thursday night at Nationwide Arena before the night ended with Pierre-Luc Dubois scoring 1:11 into overtime for a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
"A lot of teams go through adversity and injuries, but no team feels bad for you," said Dubois, who scored after getting a cross-ice pass from Gustav Nyquist off a rush. "No team comes in here trying to give you a little chance just because you have injuries. For them, they think it's an opportunity to come in and get two points. So, we've got to stay sharp. We've got to keep going. We're moving forward right now, and we've got to keep moving forward."
Despite their massive glut of injuries, the Blue Jackets (15-14-6) are indeed headed in the right direction. This was their third straight win, sixth straight game earning at least a point (4-0-2) and another gut-check game in which they lost additional players.
They had another patchwork lineup in their third straight game with players either not playing or leaving early because of health issues _ a stretch that began with three sidelined Saturday in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Ottawa Senators.
It started with defenseman David Savard, who was scratched prior to warmups with an illness, and then included Cam Atkinson leaving with a lower-body injury late in the second period. His departure left the Blue Jackets with 11 forwards instead of 12, and they already had defenseman Gabriel Carlsson, an emergency recall from the Cleveland Monsters earlier in the day, playing for Savard in his first NHL game since Oct. 4, 2018.
"We've been talking about it," said center Boone Jenner, who tipped a shot by Zach Werenski past Kings goalie Jack Campell to tie it 2-2 with just 1:43 left in regulation and the Jackets' net empty for an extra attacker. "It's an opportunity for every one of us to step up, come together and get wins more as a team."
This one was a struggle from the start, after the Kings took a 1-0 lead 42 seconds after the opening puck-drop on a goal by Adrian Kempe. Zach Werenski tied it 1-1 less than two minutes later, but Jeff Carter put the Kings back up 2-2 at 11:16 of the second _ a lead that stood up until Jenner's goal late in the third.
"When we're down a couple guys, and we lose a couple more tonight, you've got to come together," Jenner said. "That's the only way to get through it and get on the right side of those games."
