That was a much-needed win, with the Bruins snapping a four-game road losing streak. They also maintain their three-point edge on Ottawa and five-point lead on Buffalo for the Northeast Division lead, with Boston holding two games in hand on both teams.
Thomas was the star of the game, finishing with 41 saves as he appears to have finally found his old form. He's now 3-1-0 with a 1.48 GAA and a .946 save percentage in his last four games after going 2-5-0 with a 4.26 GAA and an .830 save percentage in his first eight appearances after Tuukka Rask was injured.
The Bruins will look to carry the momentum into Sunday's clash with the Ducks in Anaheim as they close out their three-game road trip.
Third Period, 18:54, Bruins 3-2: The Kings have pulled Quick for the extra attacker, leaving the Los Angeles net open for the final minute.
Third Period, 17:57, Bruins 3-2: The Kings had a lot of pressure in the Boston zone again, but managed just one shot on net and are now 0 for 4 on the power play as the Bruins hold on to their one-goal lead with just over two minutes left in regulation.
Third Period, 15:57, Bruins 3-2: The Kings will now have a late power-play chance to pull even as Jordan Caron is sent to the box for high-sticking.
Third Period, 14:46, Bruins 3-2: The Kings pull within one as Slava Voynov scores from the right point.
That came off a clean faceoff win after a Bruins icing, with Voynov taking advantage with the shot eludes Thomas.
Third Period, 14:00, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins now inches away from adding another goal, with Milan Lucic leading a 2 on 1 down the left wing and setting up David Krejci in front. But Quick gets the pad over to rob Krejci from the top of the crease.
Third Period, 13:13, Bruins 3-1: The Kings are surging now with plenty of pressure in he Boston end. Willie Mitchell comes within inches of making a one-goal game, as his blast from the point trickles through Thomas' pads and dribbles just wide of the net behind him.
Third Period, 9:53, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins nearly get another as Brad Marchand picks off a Dustin Penner pass up the middle of the ice at the L.A. blue line and moves in for a scoring bid, but Quick makes the stop to keep the Kings alive in this one.
Third Period, 5:56, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins add a huge insurance goal as Chris Kelly scores from in front.
Brian Rolston started the play with a pass up to Benoit Pouliot on the left wing. Pouliot then centered it to Kelly, with the puck going in off Kelly's skate. A review showed there was no distinct kicking motion, and the goal was upheld to give Boston a two-goal advantage.
Third Period, 4:37, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins take the lead again as Milan Lucic breaks the tie.
After Mike Richards blasted David Krejci with a huge hit in the Boston zone, the Bruins counterattacked and Lucic finished the rush with a shot from the right circle through Quick's pads.
Third Period, 3:36, 1-1: The Kings continue to pressure, but Thomas comes up with another stop on Dustin Brown from the slot, then later in the shift stones both Brown and Justin Williams in front.
Third Period, 0:00, 1-1: The final frame is under way with both clubs in need of a victory with division rivals of both teams already posting wins.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Kings remained deadlocked after exchanging goals in the second, but it was a much stronger period for Boston.
The Bruins came out playing with more of a physical edge, and that eventually got the offense going a bit. Patrice Bergeron scored the lone goal with a shorthanded tally set up by Brad Marchand. Bergeron is having his typical strong all-around night with three shots, a hit, two blocked shots to go with his goal in 11:24 of ice time. He's also 6-5 on draws, one of the few Bruins holding their own in the faceoff circle, where Boston is just 14-21 as a team (40 percent).
The Bruins still trail in hits as well at 23-21, but did have a 10-7 edge in the second period. Beyond the stats, the Bruins were winning more battles and playing more aggressively, which translated into offensive opportunities. They need more of that in the third.
End Second Period, 1-1: The Bruins survive more than kill that penalty as the Kings created several stellar scoring chances and had five shots in all on the power play, but the Bruins will be back at full strength with the game tied to start the third period.
Second Period, 17:58, 1-1: The Bruins will have to kill off another penalty, and do it without their top penalty killer as Zdeno Chara is sent to the box for high-sticking.
Second Period, 16:44, 1-1: The Bruins survive a stretch with Thomas playing without a stick after losing it, but Boston finally gets a clear and he's able to retrieve his lumber.
Second Period, 13:17, 1-1: The Kings pull even as Colin Fraser scores from the left slot.
After Quick made a series of saves with the Bruins threatening to extend the lead, the Kings countered with Kyle Clifford leading the rush and passing it to Drew Doughty on the right. Doughty then crossed it to Fraser for the shot from the left slot.
Second Period, 11:27, Bruins 1-0: The Kings threaten with Dustin Brown creating a chance with a shot from the slot, but Thomas comes up with a huge stop to keep the Bruins up by a goal.
Second Period, 10:15, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins have outshot Los Angeles 5-0 in the first 10-plus minutes of the second period. Boston has the last 11 shots in the game overall, and now leads 16-15 in shots for the game.
Second Period, 8:56, Bruins 1-0: Bergeron nearly gets his second goal of the night with a chance in front off a feed from Benoit Pouliot from the left of the net.
Second Period, 6:53, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins kill off the rest of the penalty and are now back at full strength with a one-goal lead.
Second Period, 5:18, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike first with a shorthanded tally by Patrice Bergeron.
Brad Marchand made the steal and drove in for a bid at the right post. he drew a delayed penalty for a hook but couldn't finish his backhand bid. But Bereron followed the play up and banged home the rebound in front.
Second Period, 4:53, 0-0: The Bruins will have to kill off another penalty as Brian Rolston gets called for holding after Dustin Brown got behind the defense and had a partial breakaway.
Second Period, 2:41, 0-0: the Bruins kill off that penalty without allowing a shot on goal. They also continued to ramp up the physical play as Dennis Seidenberg bloodied Drew Doughty with a huge hit behind the net early in the penalty kill.
Second Period, 0:41, 0-0: Brad Marchand nails Justin Williams with a huge hit. That was perfectly clean, but the Kings get a power play anyway as Tyler Seguin is called for hooking away from that hit.
Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The middle frame is under way in Los Angeles, where both teams are still searching for the first goal in this defensive struggle.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins came away from the opening period in a scoreless tie thanks largely to another strong start by Tim Thomas.
The Kings outshot Boston 15-11 in the first, and that margin would have been much larger if not for the five shots the Bruins got on a late power play. The Bruins still need to generate more up front, as seven of their 11 shots have come from defensemen and two more from Brian Rolston while he was playing the point on the power play. Single shots by Patrice Bergeron and Jordan Caron were the only true shots on goal from Bruins forwards in that period. The Bruins are also having trouble getting shots through the Kings defense, with six attempts blocked and four more missing the net.
It was a physical period, with the Kings getting the edge there as well. Los Angeles outhit the Bruins 16-11, including a number of thunderous checks. Chris Kelly did get the upper hand in the lone fight in the period, but the Bruins need to match the Kings' physical game with the gloves on. They also need to do better on the draws, where they are just 7-13 (35 percent), with David Krejci 1-6.
Both the Senators and Sabres have already won, putting even more pressure on the Bruins. Ottawa is now just a point back after an 8-4 victory over the red-hot Penguins, while Buffalo beat Minnesota 3-1 to pull within three points.
End First Period, 0-0: The opening frame ends scoreless as the Bruins weathered some early pressure from the Kings, then created some chances of their own on a late power play.
First Period, 19:32, 0-0: The Bruins with a lot of pressure and some decent chances on that power play, but they come up empty on the scoreboard as the sides return to even strength.
First Period, 17:32, 0-0: The Bruins will get the first power-play chance of the night as Justin Williams is sent off for roughing.
That came just seconds after Dustin Brown nearly broke the scoreless deadlock with a shot from the right circle that clanged off the far post.
First Period, 16:43, 0-0: The game comes to a halt as the officials try to sort out an issue with the game clock.
First Period, 15:49, 0-0: Things get nasty again with some unlikely participants as Jarret Stoll tackles Daniel Paille and gives him a few extra shoves. Paille chases him into the LA bench, but a lineman was in between to prevent anything further from developing. No penalties called in that altercation.
First Period, 13:40, 0-0: Thomas being tested early and often in this one, but comes up with back-to-back saves on Jeff Carter from the right side and Mike Richards on the rebound at the left post.
First Period, 10:37, 0-0: The gloves come off with a pair of unlikely combatants in Chris Kelly and Trevor Lewis.
Kelly took exception to a hit from Lewis along the boards, then got the better of a exchange of rights in a quick but spirited scrap.
First Period, 6:02, 0-0: Tyler Seguin with a chance off a steal outside the blue line. Drew Doughty deflects the shot, but gets his stick sent flying in the process. The Kings with a 7-2 edge in shots early in this one.
First Period, 3:52, 0-0: The Bruins with some pressure on a strong shift by the Krejci line, with Milan Lucic winning some battles in the offensive zone. He looks like he has come to play in this one after a slow start Thursday in San Jose.
First Period, 1:30, 0-0: The Kings with an early threat in a big flurry in front of the Bruins net, but Tim Thomas holds the fort to keep it scoreless in the early going.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: They're under way in Los Angeles, where Zdeno Chara is hitting a milestone with his 1,000th NHL game and the Bruins and Kings are both lookng for wins to try to secure leads in their respective divisions.
9 p.m.: The Bruins will open with Zdeno Chara starting his 1,000th career game on defense with Johnny Boychuk. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin will open up front, with Tim Thomas in goal.
The Kings counter with Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams up front, Drew Doughty and Rob Scuderi on the blue line and Jonathan Quick in net.
8:55 p.m.: The Bruins will have the same lineup again for this one, with Joe Corvo, Mike Mottau and Trent Whitfield again the healthy scratches. Rich Peverley did skate in warm-ups as planned, but he remains out as well.
Kevin Westgarth, Brad Richardson and Davis Drewiske are out for the Kings.
8:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick led the teams out for warm-ups and that will be the goalie matchup in this one.
Both netminders have been hot of late with Thomas 2-1-0 with a 1.30 GAA and .942 save percentage in his last three games and Quick 5-0-0 with a 1.55 GAA and .942 save percentage in his last five games.
Quick does have the edge head to head, as he's 5-1-0 with a 2.06 GAA and .928 save percentage against the Bruins, while Thomas has never beaten the Kings. He's 0-1-4 with a 2.39 GAA and .919 save percentage.
8:15 p.m.: This is a matchup of teams that both began the day atop their divisions, but both teams still have work to do to secure those division crowns.
The Bruins have a three point lead and two games in hand on Ottawa in the Northeast Division, with Buffalo also sneaking into the picture five points back, though Boston has two games in hand on Buffalo as well. Ottawa is playing Pittsburgh on Saturday, while Buffalo is taking on Minnesota
Los Angeles has actually already dropped out of the top spot in the Pacific Division with Dallas passing the Kings with a 4-1 win over Calgary Saturday afternoon. The Kings can retake the lead with a win over the Bruins, while Phoenix and San Jose also play Saturday night. The Coyotes are tied with Los Angeles and the Sharks are just two points back. Regulation wins by the Bruins and Sharks would leave all three teams tied at 86 points, one behind Dallas.
8 p.m.: The Bruins will continue their tour of California with a stop in Los Angeles, facing off with the Kings in about an hour.
It will be a milestone game for the Bruins captain, with Zdeno Chara playing his 1,000th NHL game.
Rich Peverley is still waiting to play his 326th game. he is expected to skate in warm-ups, but will not play in this game. His return from the knee injury that has kept him out of the lineup since Feb. 15 is close though, and could come as soon as Sunday in Anaheim.
8 a.m. ET: The Bruins had their two-game winning streak snapped in the opener of their West Coast trip Thursday in San Jose, but will get a chance to get back on track Saturday night in Los Angeles.
It won't be easy though, as the Kings come into this matchup having won six straight games. Los Angeles outscored its opponents 22-10 in that span, and they haven't been beating up on weak competition with victories over Central Division powers Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and St. Louis. All four of those teams are solidly in playoff position, with the Blues leading the entire NHL with 100 points.
The Kings (37-25-12, 86 points) are now atop the Pacific Division, but they are locked in a tight battle there. Phoenix is even in points but has played one more game, while Dallas is one point back and San Jose two points behind the Kings.
The Bruins (42-28-3, 87 points) have their own division race to worry about. They are just three points ahead of Ottawa in the Northeast, but did get some help from an unlikely source as Montreal beat the Senators 5-1 on Friday, leaving the Bruins with two games in hand on Ottawa again. Boston is also trying to hold off Southeast Division leader Florida to retain the second seed in the East. The Panthers are just one point back of the Bruins after a shootout loss to Edmonton on Friday.
The Bruins beat Los Angeles 3-0 in Boston back on Dec. 13. That game featured a 41-save shutout by Tuukka Rask and a game-winning goal by Rich Peverley. Both of those player are now sidelined with injuries, though Peverley has resumed practicing with the team and could return soon.
The puck drops at 9 p.m. Tune in to NESN to watch the game, and stay with the NESN.com live blog, as we'll keep you up to speed on everything happening.
