California dreaming? More like California nightmare for the Boston Bruins.
The Bruins failed to earn even a single point on their three-game West Coast swing, following up regulation losses to the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
Boston, which will finish the regular season 0-6 in games against California teams, gave the Pacific Division leaders all they could handle in its one trip to Staples Center, outshooting L.A. 23-7 over the final two periods. But they were unable to push an equalizer past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced.
The win clinched a playoff spot for the Kings, while the Bruins’ third consecutive loss dropped them to third place in the Atlantic Division, just three points ahead of the fourth-place Detroit Red Wings.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Bruins were unable to find the back of the net after pulling goalie Tuukka Rask for an extra skater. Rask finished with 18 saves in a losing effort.
L.A. ADVANTAGE
The Bruins showed plenty of energy coming out of the gate, but the Kings dominated a possession in the first period, owning a 13-5 edge in shots on goal and a 25-12 advantage in shot attempts. Had it not been for some dazzling netminding by Rask, L.A. easily could have potted two or three goals in the first.
Instead, the Kings managed just one, and there was little Rask could have done to stop it. Tyler Randell was unable to handle a Torey Krug pass along the boards, and Tanner Pearson got a piece of a Luke Schenn shot from the blue line, causing it to flutter over Rask’s right shoulder and into the net.
Brad Marchand provided Boston’s best scoring chance in the opening frame, but Jonathan Quick turned aside his bid with a toe save.
The Kings stretched their advantage to 2-0 less than three minutes into the second. Alec Martinez’s one-timer threaded a mass of bodies in front of the Boston net and beat Rask, whose vision was impaired by an Anze Kopitar screen.
CLAWING BACK
Randell, who was playing in his second consecutive game for the Bruins after sitting out the previous 13 as a healthy scratch, endured a brutal first period. In addition to the miscue that directly led to Pearson’s goal, he also was on the ice for nine Kings shot attempts and zero by the Bruins, per stats compiled by War-On-Ice.com.
The fourth-line winger helped prevent the game from getting out of hand in the second, however, potting his sixth goal of the season after fellow fourth-liner Noel Acciari outmuscled Kopitar for the puck along the end boards.
Randell has been a bizarrely efficient shooter in his rare appearances in the Bruins’ lineup, needing a mere 18 shots on net to score his six goals.
His sixth tally cut Boston’s deficit to 2-1 and seemed to re-energize the B’s. Acciari, Matt Beleskey and Kevan Miller dialed up the physicality, and the B’s spent much more time in the offensive zone, outshooting the Kings 8-3 over the remainder of the second period.
HAD THEIR CHANCES
The Bruins went on the power play four times in the game — equaling their total from the previous three contests — and tallied 11 shots on goal on the man advantage, but they could not solve Quick, who was magnificent for the Kings.
ONE WING IN, ONE WING OUT
Right wing Jimmy Hayes was a healthy scratch for Friday’s loss to the Ducks. One night later, it was Brett Connolly’s turn to watch the game from the press box. Hayes returned to his usual spot on Boston’s third line and finished with zero shots on goal and four hits in 16:05 of ice time.
UP NEXT
The western portion of their road trip is done, but the Bruins still have one more away game before they can return to the cozy confines of TD Garden. The B’s will enjoy three days off from game action and then visit the New York Rangers on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Thumbnail photo via Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports Images
