Boston Bruins overtime loss to Kings still a win of sorts

The Boston Bruins squared off against the best in the West as they fight to find their footing amidst a tornado of injuries to start the season.

The Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins established themselves as the league’s poles of power in the early 2010s. The much hotter equator was and still is the Chicago Blackhawks, but they all fell far short of expectations the past two seasons. It appears the Kings are back to craving the crown after showing Daryl Sutter the door and embracing the evolution and speed of the game.

As an avid Bruins fan, I marked this matchup on my calendar long in advance. There have been many comparisons made between the north and south pole of hockey over the last decade. The transformations to both teams by way of removing their tenured head coaches only draws more comparisons as both teams aimed to evolve.

The heavily criticized leaders Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown are back leading the way for the refreshed royalty, not to mention the resurgence of arguably the best goalie in the league, Jonathan Quick. Given the Bruins up and down start to the season, this game transformed into a test to measure the merit of the Bs.

1st Period

The Bruins came out playing with something to prove, bringing physicality and establishing puck position. They showed impressive movement without the puck in the offensive zone as Charlie McAvoy gave his his best Drew Doughty impersonation by moving down the wall and opening up to thread the needle to Brad Marchand at the far post who slipped the puck by Quick to put the Bs up early at 5:27 of the first period.

The Bruins dominated the first nine minutes until Torey Krug continued his struggles by lobbing a puck into the center of the Bs zone looking to hit David Backes on a breakout pass. But the dish was off the mark, and Tyler Toffoli snatched the puck drooling at the mouth. Then, he buried the gift goal at 9:01 of the 1st.

The Bs battled the rest of the period to finish tied on the scoreboard 1-1 and held the a slight edge in shots at 10-9. However, Riley Nash was slow to his feet when he was shoved into the glass between the benches near the end of the period. It should be mentioned that Frank Vatrano, known as Frank the Tank, quickly came to Nash’s defense but the refs jumped in to settle the scrum.

2nd Period

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The battle continued into the second period. Fortunately for the Bruins, Nash was able to return after missing a few shifts. Both teams jockeyed for position for most of the period, unable to establish puck possession and momentum. The action picked up under five minutes to go as both teams had golden chances to score off the rush but couldn’t capitalize. The Kings had the advantage in shots 21-15 but the game remained tied 1-1 and the Bruins showed they weren’t backing down by driving to the net at the end of period.

3rd Period

It was much of the same to start the third. Neither team was able to maintain sustained pressure but both had periodic chances. Tuukka Rask matched Jonathan Quick going glove save for glove save. The fight continued to no avail as regulation time ended with the game knotted 1-1.

Overtime

Off the draw, Kings got possession and Doughty drove to the net with Bergeron in coverage. Bergeron’s attempt to contain Doughty resulted in a slashing penalty but Doughty’s drive to the net resulted in a goaltender interference penalty that canceled out Bergeron’s infraction. Once Bergy’s penalty expired they brought the heat with 37, 10, & 73.

Anders Bjork with Adrain Kempe hanging on his back broke on alone and Quick again the stuffed Bs. From there it was back and forth robberies by Rask and Quick. Then with 0.9 seconds left in the frame, the Bruins were caught with Pastrnak, Bjork, Krug and on the ice after an icing and the Kings took advantage of the draw as Pastrnak faced Kopitar. Kopitar won the draw instantaneously to Toffoli who one timed a shot to the back of the net. Game over.

Key Takeaways

1. Encouraging loss: The Bruins held their own against the Western Conference royalty and made the Kings earn the W in a hard way. The Bruins contained the Kings until they were mismatched in OT with no center on the ice. The Kings got lucky.
2. Charlie McAvoy is a beast: he has been compared to his counterpart in tongiht’s game, Drew Doughty, as of late, but he largely out played #8 on the Kings as Doughty may have fallen victim to success (royalty). Multiple times McAvoy was attacked by the opposition and he was either too fleet a foot or too strong to succumb. Move over Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson there is new competition in town.
3. Tuukka Rask vs. Jonathan Quick: this game was a goaltending battle that you would need to see to believe. I can’t remember an NHL game that I’ve seen goaltenders raise their glove so much since Patrick Roy was in net, which was quite some time ago. It might seem that this game lacked in offense, but the goaltenders stole the show as they snatched up every chance in a duel to outperform the other.
4. David Backes at center: the second line was more alive and prevalent with Backes at the helm. He provided a physical and defensive presence to the young wingers, which provided them room to be creative and  make plays.
5. Still work to do: the Bs were showed the bar by Kings. They can’t settle for an OT loss. They need to keep improving and find their identity, which is yet to happen.

Next: Backes should be 2nd line center