It’s hard to understate how important Thursday night’s 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings was for the Boston Bruins.
Boston had lost four straight entering Staples Center for a matchup with a Kings team that owned the second-best record in the Western Conference. The Bruins capitalized on their scoring chances and received excellent goaltending from backup Anton Khudobin to seal the much-needed victory.
The B’s improve to 7-7-4 with the win, while the Kings fall to 11-6-2 with their fourth straight loss.
Here’s how it all went down.
INJURY WOES
B’s forwards Brad Marchand and Anders Bjork didn’t play against the Kings because of injuries, but David Krejci did make his return to the lineup. He played 16:31 of ice time, and Boston’s passing and power-play movement were much improved with him back in the fold.
ROOKIE OPENS THE SCORING
Charlie McAvoy scored his second goal of the campaign — and first since the season opener — off a faceoff win by Patrice Bergeron in the first period. The rookie defenseman made a nice drive to the net and beat Kings goalie Jonathan Quick with a nifty backhand shot to give the B’s a 1-0 lead. Bergeron picked up the lone assist on the goal.
ALL TIED UP
Drew Doughty is one of the best defenseman in the NHL, and he showed why on his tying goal in the second period. The Kings star ripped a shot top right corner past Khudobin for his fourth goal of the season. This one came on the power play and was assisted by Jussi Jokinen and Anze Kopitar.
REGAIN THE LEAD
The Bruins took back the lead when defenseman Zdeno Chara’s slap shot found its way past Quick for a 2-1 B’s edge. It was Chara’s second goal of the season, with Paul Postma and Danton Heinen earning assists.
GOOD GOALTENDING
Khudobin was tremendous, stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced for a .964 save percentage. The B’s really need a strong performance from their goalie as they battled the fatigue of back-to-back games, and he gave it to them.
UP NEXT
The Bruins resume their road trip Saturday night in San Jose against the Sharks. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.
