Final, Kings 2-0: And this one comes to a close with the Kings holding on for the win.
Jonathan Quick stays undefeated against the Bruins as he posts the 34-save shutout, while the Bruins waste another stellar performance from Tim Thomas (32 saves).
The Bruins split their two games out West and return home to face Florida on Wednesday in their final game before the All-Star Break.
Third Period, 18:03, Kings 2-0: The Bruins pull Thomas for the extra attacker with a faceoff in the Kings end after an icing.
Third Period, 17:02, Kings 2-0: The Bruins going all out to try to put pressure on Quick, but the Kings defensemen doing an excellent job cutting off the shooting lanes and blocking shots in front.
Third Period, 13:21, Kings 2-0: Thomas makes another big stop, corralling the puck in front after Clifford fanned on a chance from the top of the crease.
Third Period, 12:38, Kings 2-0: The Bruins kill off that penalty, but they're running out of time to mount a comeback in this one.
Third Period, 10:38, Kings 2-0: The Kings now get another power play as Shawn Thornton is sent to the box after getting tangled up with Kopitar behind the L.A. net. Thornton is called for holding.
Third Period, 9:50, Kings 2-0: The Kings have just seemed a step ahead of the Bruins all night, generating great speed through the neutral zones and creating chances off the rush.
Third Period, 7:20, Kings 2-0: The Kings are playing like the team desperate for a couple goals to get back into this one, as they continue to pressure the Bruins and create chances on Thomas.
Third Period, 3:30, Kings 2-0: The Bruins are in deep trouble now, as Andrei Loktionov extends the lead to 2-0.
After Dustin Brown sent in a bad-angle shot from the right, Loktionov banged in the rebound at the left post into a wide-open net behind Thomas.
Third Period, 2:46, Kings 1-0: Another unsuccessful power play, though Lucic had two great chances, including one in front from Krejci that forced Quick to make his best save of the night.
Third Period, 0:46, Kings 1-0: After Thomas robs Stoll with another big save, the Kings take a penalty to give the Bruins another power play. Rob Scuderi goes off for high-sticking Mark Recchi.
Third Period, 0:00, Kings 1-0: The final frame is under way, but is the third period ever the final frame when these two teams meet?
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins have dominated the third period this year, and they'll need to do it again to win this one.
Tim Thomas has given them the chance to comeback as he's stopped 24 of 25 shots he's faced, but Jonathan Quick has been equally good at the other end with 20 saves.
Claude Julien did shuffle his lines late in the second, finally dropping the slumping Nathan Horton off the top line. he's now with Tyler Seguin and Blake Wheeler, while Michael Ryder moves up alongside Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Lucic and Greg Campbell lead the Bruins with four hits each, while Dustin Brown leads all players with five, including a nasty one up high on Steven Kampfer. Kampfer, who's playing with a broken nose, was shaken up, but did not miss a shift.
End Second Period, Kings 1-0: Two periods now in the books, and the Bruins are still looking for their first goal of the night. The strong play of Thomas has kept Boston in this one, giving them a chance to still pull it out in the third.
Second Period, 18:10, Kings 1-0: Lucic with one of his old patented big hits, blasting Stoll behind the Kings net. Haven't seen enough of those this year, but Lucic is playing with an edge in this one.
Second Period, 17:03, Kings 1-0: Thomas with another big stop, this one on Clifford in front.
Second Period, 14:39, Kings 1-0: The Bruins fail to convert that power play as well, as the Kings are back at full strength.
Second Period, 12:39, Kings 1-0: The Bruins get another power-play chance as Ponikarovsky goes off for holding after clothes-lining Andrew Ference in the corner.
Second Period, 12:01, Kings 1-0: Kampfer takes a real tough hit from Dustin Brown, who laid him out with a shoulder that looked to land high on a rookie already playing through the pain of a broken nose. Kampfer stays on the bench, but is in obvious discomfort.
Second Period, 11:11, Kings 1-0: Thomas is the story in this one so far, as the Kings are outshooting Boston 10-3 in the second, but haven't been able to extend the lead thanks to Thomas' strong play.
Second Period, 9:54, Kings 1-0: Thomas does it again, as a turnover in front gives Michal Handzus a chance in front, but the Bruins netminder flashes the glove to deny that bid.
Second Period, 8:54, Kings 1-0: Thomas robs Simmonds again, this time on a turnaround shot in the high slot through traffic in front.
Second Period, 7:27, Kings 1-0: The Bruins can't convert on the power play, and Simmonds has a breakaway out of the box, but Thomas makes another big save.
Chara had a chance to tie it with a blast from the right circle early in the man-advantage, but hit the outside of the net.
Second Period, 5:27, Kings 1-0: The Bruins finally get their first power-play chance as Wayne Simmonds is sent to the box for holding.
Second Period, 2:35, Kings 1-0: Thomas under siege as Alexei Ponikarovsky has a chance right in front, then Brad Richardson fires one in from the right boards.
Second Period, 1:36, Kings 1-0: Thomas with the save on Dustin Brown, who gets the opportunity off a loose puck in the high slot.
Second Period, 0:00, Kings 1-0: The middle frame is under way, with the Bruins looking for the equalizer after L.A. jumped out to the early lead.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins created some chances early, but it was the Kings that struck first and Boston will need to answer in the second.
The Bruins have turned in a solid physical effort so far. The hits are even at 10-10, but the key stat is the team-high three hits from Milan Lucic. Lucic had just two hits in the last four games combined, and needs to regain that edge to his game.
There's no edge lacking in Shawn Thornton's game. He tried to spark the Bruins again by dropping the gloves with Kyle Clifford. Boston is 7-2-1 when Thornton fights, including 5-0-1 in his last six games with bouts, so they'll hope that trend continues in this one.
Michael Ryder led the offensive effort with three shots, including a couple of good scoring chances. The Bruins are also winning the faceoff war 13-6 (68 percent), led by David Krejci (3-0) and Greg Campbell (4-2).
End First Period, Kings 1-0: The opening 20 minutes are in the books, with the Bruins down a goal despite a decent start. They'll need to be better than decent to pull this one out though.
First Period, 19:31, Kings 1-0: The Bruins are able to kill off taht penalty and the sides are back at even strength in the final minute of the period.
First Period, 17:31, Kings 1-0: The Bruins are shorthanded again as Blake Wheeler gets called for holding the stick on Smyth.
First Period, 17:02, Kings 1-0: The Bruins really activating the defense with both Kampfer and Chara going in deep, with Chara sending in a shot from the slot that Quick is able to turn aside.
First Period, 15:20, Kings 1-0: Clifford now trades shots of a different kind as he drops the gloves with Thornton.
Good long scrap here with both men landing solid shots, but Thornton appeared to get the better blows in against the tough rookie. Now we'll see if this bout can spark the Bruins the way Campbell's did on Saturday.
First Period, 14:44, Kings 1-0: Anze Kopitar weaves his way around three defenders on a rush, finally giving a pass over to Kyle Clifford for a shot that Thomas turns aside.
First Period, 13:38, Kings 1-0: The Kings continue the pressure after breaking through with the goal, but Thomas makes a blocker save on Willie Mitchell's point shot. L.A. weathered Boston's early storm, now the Bruins have to withstand this charge by the Kings and regain the momentum.
First Period, 10:50, Kings 1-0: The Kings score their first power-play goal in eight games for an early lead as Ryan Smyth bangs home a rebound.
Jarret Stoll sent in a one-timer from the left point and Smyth popped in the rebound at the left post.
First Period, 10:16, 0-0: The Kings will get the first power-play chance of the night as Chara is sent off for hooking.
The Kings are 0 for 22 on the man-advantage in their last seven games.
First Period, 8:30, 0-0: Another chance for the Bruins as Recchi sends it down low with Marchand crashing the net, but Quick kicks it out.
First Period, 7:13, 0-0: The Bruins look to have all their lines going early in this one, with Michael Ryder having a couple good bids and David Krejci also creating some chances.
Tyler Seguin has some jump back at center and the Bergeron continues to cycle well. Quick has had to be sharp in the early going to keep this one scoreless.
First Period, 4:30, 0-0: Good pressure from the Bruins' fourth line there on that shift. Even as the pieces change with Paille now slotting in with Campbell and Thornton, that unit remains a consistent force.
First Period, 1:15, 0-0: Nathan Horton still can't buy a goal, as he comes in down the right side on a 2-on-1 with Milan Lucic, takes the pass and fires one in. But Quick smothers that bid from the circle.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way in L.A., where the Bruins will look to finally beat the Kings, and considering the late start back East, hopefully do it in regulation after four straight losses in either OT or shootouts.
10:30 p.m.: The Bruins will go with their usual starting lineup, with Patrice Bergeron's line opening the game with Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi on the wings, Zdeno Chara and Steven Lampfer on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
The Kings counter with Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams up front, Jack Johnson and Rob Scuderi on the blue line and Jonathan Quick in goal.
10:20 p.m.: The Bruins have scratched Mark Stuart on defense again, leaving Adam McQuaid in the lineup.
Daniel Paille is also back in the lineup with Savard out.
The Kings have scratched Kevin Westgarth, Peter Harrold and Davis Drewiske.
10:10 p.m.: Jonathan Quick will get the start for the Kings as expected.
The Milford, Conn. native and UMass product is 4-0-0 against the Bruins in his young career, with three of those wins coming in shootouts and the fourth in OT.
All four of those victories came against Thomas, as the two 2010 U.S. Olympic backups will go head-to-head for the fifth time in this one.
10 p.m.: Claude Julien confirmed in his pre-game briefing with reporters that Tim Thomas will get the start in this one.
No surprise with Thomas having earned NHL First Star honors this week, but he is still looking for his first career win against the Kings. He's 0-0-4 against L.A.
9:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Kings don't take the ice for another hour, but it's already been a busy day for the B's.
The good news came early when Tim Thomas was named the No. 1 star of the week in the NHL. The bad news came later in the evening when the team confirmed that Marc Savard would be out indefinitely with a moderate concussion.
Boston will have to take on the Kings without Savard, and it won't be an easy task with Los Angeles' stingy defense allowing the fewest shots on goal in the league.
8 a.m.: The Bruins bounced back from a lackluster effort against Buffalo with a strong showing in Colorado on Saturday, burying the Avalanche 6-2. Now Boston will look to close out its quick trip out West with another victory in Los Angeles on Monday.
The Kings are coming off a 4-3 win of their own over Phoenix on Saturday, though they blew a 3-0 lead before Jarret Stoll scored the game-winner in the third to finally put away the Coyotes. That snapped a three-game losing streak for Los Angeles, which scored just two goals total in those three games.
The Kings are 3-10-0 in their last 13 games, falling to last place in the Pacific Division and 12th in the Western Conference despite still being three games over .500 at 25-22-1. Even with their recent skid, the Bruins remain wary of an opponent that boasts plenty of talent, albeit with a lot of youth still learning how to utilize that skill.
"They're young and they're very talented," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "They're an up and coming team. I think they're a team that's got good speed, good size and they're well balanced."
The Kings won't have former Bruin Marco Sturm in the lineup, as the forward was placed on injured reserve last week with tendinitis in his left knee. It was the right knee that was surgically repaired this offseason after a gruesome injury in the first game of Boston's second-round series against Philadelphia, but Sturm also missed most of the 2008-09 season after surgery on his left knee.
It might be just as well that the Bruins don't face Sturm, considering how their reunion with Matt Hunwick went in Colorado. Hunwick was the player who hit Marc Savard into the boards early in the second period. It was a clean hit, but Savard hit his head against the glass above the boards and left the game. He returned to Boston on Sunday for further evaluation.
The Bruins unveiled some new lines in practice on Sunday with Savard out, and they'll try out the new combinations against the Kings. David Krejci will be back between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton, with the Bruins hoping they can recapture their early-season success. Tyler Seguin will be back at center between Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder and Daniel Paille returns to the lineup alongside Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton.
Only the unit of Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi remains unchanged, and for good reason. That line has been Boston's best of late, combining for 17 goals and 33 points in the nine games since they were put together. That includes four goals and 10 points in Saturday's win over the Avalanche, and with Savard out again, the Bruins will need that line to continue producing against the Kings.
This will be a late one back in New England, as the puck drops at 10:30 p.m. eastern time, so check back here throughout the day and night for updates on all the action.
