End third period, Kings 4-2:Â That’s it from Los Angeles as the Bruins lose another one on this West Coast swing.
Third period, 19:05, Kings 4-2:Â The Bruins have pulled Chad Johnson in favor of the extra attacker as Claude Julien uses his timeout.
Third period, 17:47, Kings 4-2:Â All of a sudden, this has become a night Justin Florek will never forget.
He just tipped a Johnny Boychuk shot by Jonathan Quick for his first career goal. It might be too little, too late, though.
Third period, 15:29, Kings 4-1:Â The Bruins are going back on the power play after Mike Richards was just called for cross-checking.
Third period, 15:02, Kings 4-1:Â The Bruins were able to kill off the Johnny Boychuk penalty, and the game is back to even strength.
Third period, 12:53, Kings 4-1:Â Johnny Boychuk is going to the penalty box for hooking, and the Bruins will have to kill off another penalty.
Third period, 12:27, Kings 4-1:Â If you’re not in bed yet, you should go now.
Dustin Brown just pushed the Kings’ lead to 4-1 with a goal that should end any hopes of a Boston comeback. Los Angeles just went end to end to score the fourth goal of the game for the Kings.
Third period, 12:00, Kings 3-1:Â From the “It’s been that kind of night” department, Ryan Spooner just carried the puck into the Los Angeles zone and before he could make a move, crashed into teammate Carl Soderberg. The two both fell to the ice and kind of summed up the Bruins’ night in one play.
That did come about 30 seconds after a terrific play by Spooner to create a chance that resulted in a wraparound attempt for the speedy center, but Jonathan Quick went post to post to make the save.
Third period, 9:24, Kings 3-1:Â The good news for the Bruins is that they were able to kill off the Carl Soderberg penalty. The bad news, though, is that more valuable time has ticked off the clock.
Soderberg looked to have a chance after hopping out of the box. He joined the rush where Jarome Iginla passed it back to him, but Soderberg waited just a little too long to attempt a shot, and the play was broken up.
Third period, 6:33, Kings 3-1:Â The Bruins did a great job of doing everything but scoring for the first minute and a half of the power play. However, sustained puck possession wasn’t good enough as they couldn’t find the back of the net.
Near the end of the man-advantage, Carl Soderberg was called for interference, which means the Bruins will have to kill off nearly two minutes of power-play time.
Third period, 4:44, Kings 3-1:Â The Bruins have come out with a good start to the third, and now they get a power play.
Slava Voynov was just called for hooking, and the B’s are up a man trailing by two.
Third period, 2:28, Kings 3-1:Â The Bruins just had a fantastic chance to get within one, but Jonathan Quick came up with a huge save.
Ryan Spooner made a sweet pass across the slot to Carl Soderberg, and the winger was in all alone with a point-blank chance, but Quick was able to throw his left pad out and somehow make the save.
Third period, 0:01, Kings 3-1:Â The third period is underway with the B’s looking to get back into this one.
End second period, Kings 3-1:Â The second period comes to an end in Los Angeles with the Bruins down a pair.
The Kings are 14-0-0 when leading after two this season, so…
Second period, 18:30, Kings 3-1:Â The Bruins killed off the penalty to Brad Marchand, and the game is back to even strength.
Second period, 16:27, Kings 3-1:Â Brad Marchand is going to the penalty box for high sticking.
Second period, 16:08, Kings 3-1:Â Adam McQuaid just went out of his way to stick up for his teammate after a hit he took exception to.
Kyle Clifford drilled David Krejci with a hit along the Los Angeles board, and McQuaid challenged Clifford behind the play. Clifford obliged, and the two engaged in a big boy fight in the neutral zone with some big blows from both side.s
Second period, 13:55, Kings 3-1:Â Boston is starting to get some better chances here as it gets late in the second period.
The Patrice Bergeron line just had a chance of its own, which came a few shifts after the fourth line really pinned the Kings in their own zone. It’s still a big hole, all things considered, but the Bruins are starting to show some encouraging signs of life.
Second period, 9:55, Kings 3-1:Â The Bruins may not be dead just yet.
Matt Fraser just scored his second goal as a member of the Bruins as he took a gorgeous pass from Carl Soderberg and one-timed the shot by Jonathan Quick from the right faceoff circle to get the B’s within two.
Second period, 9:27, Kings 3-0:Â The Kings had a 3-on-1 break into the Boston zone, but Adam McQuaid made a nice to play to break it all up, as did Chad Johnson.
Jeff Carter waited and waited, but McQuaid took away the passing lanes and Johnson was able to poke the puck away.
First period, 6:16, Kings 3-0:Â The Bruins certainly haven’t gotten a kick out of the decision to pull Tuukka Rask.
The Kings continue to dominate the puck possession, as they have pretty much all year, and they’re still peppering Chad Johnson with shots. He’s been solid so far, though, and it’s still a three-goal game.
Second period, 1:45, Kings 3-0:Â This one has gotten out of hand in a heartbeat.
Jarret Stoll won yet another faceoff back to the point for Alec Martinez. The Kings defenseman ripped a shot from the blue line that Tuukka Rask had no chance on with a lot of traffic in front.
That chases Rask, as Claude Julien has put Chad Johnson into the game.
Second period, 0:44, Kings 2-0:Â Naturally, the mental mistake comes back to hurt the Bruins.
Justin Williams just made Dougie Hamilton and the Bruins pay for that second penalty, as he ripped a shot by Tuukka Rask to give the Kings the 2-0 lead.
Second period, 0:26, Kings 1-0:Â The Bruins killed off the penalty, but then Dougie Hamilton made a mental mistake.
He touched the puck as he was coming out of the box, and that’s a no-no. So he goes right back to the penalty box for two minutes.
Second period, 0:01, Kings 1-0:Â The second period is underway with the Bruins looking to kill off 23 seconds of power-play time.
End first period, Kings 1-0:Â The first period just came to an end with a strong possession in the Boston zone. Luckily for the Bruins, the Kings were a little too cute with the puck and didn’t get any real good chances.
The Bruins will have to kill off the final 23 seconds of the penalty to open the second.
First period, 18:23, Kings 1-0:Â Dougie Hamilton is going to the penalty box for tripping, and the Kings are back on the power play.
First period, 17:00, Kings 1-0:Â The Bruins’ best chance of the evening just came in the last seconds, but Jonathan Quick stood tall.
Johnny Boychuk wildly threw the puck on the net from the top of the right faceoff circle, which is where Jarome Iginla was camped in front with his back to Quick. Iginla tried a backhanded attempt after gathering the rebound, but Quick kicked it away.
First period, 14:50, Kings 1-0:Â The Bruins’ power play — one of their worst in a while — just came to an end.
The Bruins weren’t able to get a shot on goal in that two-minute stretch, as they were barely able to establish possession in the Los Angeles zone.
First period, 12:40, Kings 1-0:Â The Bruins will now get a chance on the power play.
Drew Doughty just tripped Patrice Bergeron behind the Kings net, and the B’s will look to tie the game on the man-advantage.
First period, 10:32, Kings 1-0:Â Johnny Boychuk just whiffed on a pass, and it hurt the Bruins in a big way.
Boychuk misfired on a pass in his own zone, and that allowed Anze Kopitar to pick up the puck in the Boston zone. Kopitar passed it to Jeff Carter who was able to get a shot on goal from the right wing. Tuukka Rask made a save on Carter’s first offering, but the rebound went right back to Carter. He was able to put the second chance by Rask for the game’s first goal.
First period, 10:00, 0-0:Â The Bruins are off to a better start when it comes to the penalty kill.
They just killed off Daniel Paille’s tripping penalty, a good sign after the B’s allowed three power-play goals against the Ducks on Tuesday.
First period, 7:11, 0-0:Â The Kings are getting the game’s first power play.
Daniel Paille was just called for tripping.
First period, 6:30, 0-0:Â Now a whole lot going on offensively in the first few minutes of this game. Don’t expect much, either. These two teams are the top two defensive teams at least going off of goals per game.
The Kings are also among the stingiest teams in terms of shots allowed. They’re one of the league’s best puck possession teams, so don’t expect a lot in terms of offense.
First period, 4:00, 0-0:Â Tuukka Rask was tested a couple of times in the early minutes as part of a good start from the Kings.
The Bruins’ top two lines just countered that with a couple of good shifts from the top two lines to help balance the ice some in the opening minutes.
First period, 0:01, 0-0:Â The game is underway. Finally.
10:15 p.m.:Â The Bruins didn’t have a morning skate, but Jordan Caron got some work in this morning, which was a pretty telling sign that he wouldn’t play in this one. The pregame line rushes would appear to confirm that as well.
The fourth-line forward has been battling a back issue, and this would be the third straight game he’s missed if he is indeed out. That means it’s a third consecutive game for Justin Florek on that fourth-line left wing. With Florek in the mix, Daniel Paille moves over to the right on his off-wing on that fourth line with Gregory Campbell in the middle.
Here are the rest of the Bruins’ projected lines and defensive pairs, going off of the pregame warmups.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg — Ryan Spooner — Matt Fraser
Justin Florek — Gregory Campbell — Daniel Paille
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Torey Krug — Adam McQuaid
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
10 p.m.:Â Warmups are underway in Los Angeles, where the goaltending matchup will indeed be Tuukka Rask versus Jonathan Quick.
8:35 p.m.:Â Bruins forward Loui Eriksson may return on this road trip, but if he does, it won’t be until the trip’s finale on Saturday in San Jose.
Eriksson, who was cleared for contact Wednesday, isn’t quite ready to return to game action. Speaking to reporters prior to tonight’s game against the Kings, Boston coach Claude Julien said that there’s a chance Eriksson returns Saturday against the Sharks.
He’s been out since Dec. 7 when he suffered a concussion at the hands of a crushing Brooks Orpik body check. Coincidentally, Saturday could mark the return of Shawn Thornton as well. The Boston winger is eligible to return after serving a 15-game suspension for attacking Orpik shortly after the hit on Eriksson.
4 p.m.: The Bruins played a pretty solid game Tuesday night in Anaheim, but some special teams breakdowns cost the B’s dearly as they opened their three-game West Coast road trip with a 5-2 loss to the Ducks. Boston will try to fix those issues on Thursday night as their jaunt through California continues.
The Bruins are back at it Thursday night in Los Angeles where they will take the Kings for the first time this season. It’s the first time the Bruins have faced the Kings in Los Angeles since March 24, 2012.
Claude Julien’s bunch will be looking to get back to their winning ways after a disappointing loss to the Ducks. The B’s came out and played a tremendous first period, but Jonas Hiller kept the game scoreless with a few huge saves. That allowed Anaheim to stick around and eventually score three power-play goals as well as a shorthanded tally on the way to the 5-2 win. It wasn’t a bad effort from the Bruins, but their breakdowns — on both the penalty kill and the power play — came at inopportune times. Those types of mistakes are always going to be costly against teams like Anaheim who are even better at home.
The Kings come into Thursday night’s game having lost six of their last seven. Like the Ducks, however, the Kings are a much different (and better) team when they play at home. The Kings are 14-5-3 at Staples Center this season, which includes a 6-1-1 stretch since the beginning of December.
Boston is expected to get first-line forward Milan Lucic back in the lineup after the big winger missed Tuesday’s game in Anaheim with an illness. He is expected to be ready to go against the Kings.
Puck drop from out in Los Angeles is slated for 10:30 p.m. ET.
