LOS ANGELES -- As Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock groused about his club's early-season defensive breakdowns and its sporadic approach to checking, he took a deep breath and put the brakes on his line of thinking and the media's line of questioning.

The Blue Jackets -- former laughingstock and perennial losers of the NHL -- got off to the best start in the franchise's nine-season history.

The Jackets are 6-4-0, but last night's loss to the Los Angeles Kings cost them a chance to take over first place in the Central Division.

"It shows how far this team has come," Hitchcock said. "We're (complaining) because we gave up six goals, and we're (complaining) because we haven't won all of our road games, and we're (complaining) because we haven't dominated other teams in their buildings for 60 minutes.

"Until a year ago, we were just hoping the other team didn't show up so we had a chance to win on the road."

Last year's berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and this summer's long-term extension of the contract of captain Rick Nash, changed how the rest of the NHL views the Blue Jackets.

But the bar has been raised in Columbus, too.

"A few years ago, everybody would have been surprised and pumped if we started" 6-3-0, Nash said.

Hitchcock called it the welcomed price of progress.

"It shows how far we've come," he said. "If we don't win, the coach isn't happy, the players aren't happy, the fans aren't happy.

"The expectations have come up so high here from where they were before, and I think that's a good thing."

Nash hits 200

Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash scored the 200th goal of his career Saturday in Anaheim in his 450th NHL game.

"It's great," Nash said. "Milestones or personal goals never really mean much to me, but to say you scored 200 goals in the NHL is pretty nice.

"I owe it to all the great players I've played with. They're the ones who got me here. It seems like I just got in this league last year, and now it's 200 goals. Time flies. Things happen fast."

Patience, please

Hitchcock was asked if dropping center Derick Brassard to the fourth line could help awaken the game of rookie left winger Nikita Filatov, who has had trouble finding playing time in Hitchcock's system.

The coach didn't mince words:

"I don't think Filatov's game is going to be awake for a long time. He's in that adjustment phase right now, that survival phase.

"He did his job when he got back in the lineup in Edmonton. That's why he played again Saturday (in Anaheim).

"All the things we wanted him to do to be an NHL player, he's tried like crazy to do them. He's in the lineup now, so hopefully we're off and running."

Slap shots

Saturday's winning goal by defenseman Fedor Tyutin in Anaheim was his first as a Blue Jacket and his first since Oct. 27, 2005, when he played for the New York Rangers. Scouts for the Rangers, Thrashers and Maple Leafs have been tracking the Blue Jackets early in the season.

aportzline@dispatch.com