Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Sensational rookie Steve Mason made 24 saves to notch his second consecutive shutout, as the Columbus Blue Jackets bested the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0, at the Staples Center.
A third-round pick in 2006, Mason, who entered Monday with an NHL-best 1.87 goals-against average, recorded his fourth career whitewashing in his 19th career start.
Columbus captain Rick Nash netted his team-leading 16th goal of the season, an empty-net marker with 1:15 remaining in the third period, and picked up the primary assist on Kris Russell's late second-period power-play tally.
The Blue Jackets were involved in their fourth consecutive shutout, winning the last two.
"It was like a playoff game," said Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock. "It was really physical and a lot of big hits. Both teams realized that after the first period that one or two mistakes was going to be the difference here."
Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots for the Kings, who have lost six of their last eight outings.
"The effort was pretty good," said Kings head coach Terry Murray. "You always want it to be better when you lose the game, but you have a tight checking game, you have two teams that are battling for position. You have a lot of good checking going on, a lot of blocking of shots, both goaltenders played well and made big stops, and both teams had good scoring chances that they are not able to finish."
Game Notes
Columbus began a season-long six-game road trip by snapping a seven-game losing streak away from Nationwide Arena..The Blue Jackets dropped both of the previous two games against LA this year by 3-0 scores..Columbus finished 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Kings were 0-for-4.
