After dropping a 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, the Boston Bruins responded with a gritty performance Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings and came away with an impressive 4-1 road victory.
Bruins backup goaltender Anton Khudobin shined in net, turning away 27 of 28 Kings’ shot attempts. Boston’s defense turned in a strong performance as well, including killing two of three Los Angeles’ power plays.
The B’s received two impressive goals from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, as well as empty-netters from Dominic Moore and David Krejci.
With the win, Boston improves to 31-24-6, while Los Angeles drops to 29-27-4.
Here’s how it all went down.
BRUINS STRIKE FIRST, KINGS ANSWER
Despite being on the second night of a back-to-back, the Bruins came out firing. Just over three minutes into the game, Marchand picked the corner of the net to give the B’s an early 1-0 lead.
The Kings answered late in the period, though. With under two minutes remaining in the period, Kevin Gravel netted his first goal of the season on a Kings’ power play to even the score at 1-1.
Boston appeared to take the lead just 45 seconds later when Peter Cehlarik found the back of the net off of a feed from David Krejci. Cehlarik was robbed of his first career NHL goal, though, as an offsides infraction on the Bruins nullified the score.
The first period featured a ton of back-and-forth action, as the Bruins narrowly outshot the Kings by an 11-10 margin. The energy and physicality were high, as well, as the two teams combined for 35 hits in the opening 20 minutes.
B’S TAKE LEAD
The Bruins answered the disallowed goal late in the first period with a surefire tally early in the second. Just under five minutes into the second frame, Pastrnak found the back of the net, despite breaking his stick.
You don’t see that every day. The goal was Pastrnak’s 26th of the season and gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins ultimately led after 40 minutes, but the Kings dominated the second stanza. The Bruins were able to hold their advantage, though, thanks to strong efforts from the defense and Khudobin. Los Angeles had two power-play opportunities in the second frame, but Boston squandered both man advantages thanks to its aggressive penalty kill.
The Kings certainly had their scoring chances in the second period, registering 15 shots on net. But Khudobin stood tall, denying all shot attempts to preserve the Bruins’ lead heading into the final period.
BRUINS HOLD ON
After a multitude of scoring chances in the first and second periods, the final frame held a much different tone. Boston’s defense was terrific in the third period, only allowing three Kings’ shots on net. The B’s ensured the victory with empty-net goals from Moore and Krejci.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will head to the Lone Star State for a Sunday matinee matchup with the Dallas Stars. Puck drop is set for 12:30 p.m. ET
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
