Your Boston Bruins hosted the LA Kings tonight to start a 4-game homestand on Causeway Street. Tonight’s game needed extra hockey, then a shootout, and then some extra innings to determine a winner; but it was the West Coasters that get the extra point as the B’s fall in the shootout. This was the 2nd SOL at home on the season for the B’s, but at least they keep their perfect record in regulation alive and kicking.
David Krejci drew back into the lineup which pushed Craig Smith back to the 9th floor. Linus Ullmark was in net opposite Pheonix Copley who manned the pipes for the Kings. The first period opened up fairly evenly as neither team grabbed momentum in the early going and both clubs were challenged to set up in the offensive zone. The Bruins started to tilt the ice later in the opening frame, especially once Stripes kept out of it and let them play some 5 on 5 hockey. I wonder if officiating crews are getting paid by the whistle this year? Memo to the NHL: Please inform Stripes that no one is paying good money to see them, let the boys play.
In the 2nd period during a delayed penalty, Taylor Hall got it going for the Bruins when he beat Copley over the blocker. With Ullmark (almost) on the bench, Patrice Bergeron hopped on for the good guys to work that 6 on 5 magic. Matt Grzelcyk dragged the puck back to the top of the umbrella in the middle of the blueline and found Hall curling up from the LW corner. Hall gathered in the pass and took a couple of quick strides and let go a drag snap from the top of the LW circle and the boys were off and running.
Just about 3 minutes later, Brad Marchand doubled up the score as he scored on the PP. David Pastrnak carried the puck into the LAK zone and drove the RW corner where he found Marchand in the high slot. Marchand corralled the puck in the slot and moved laterally to his right to almost directly on the dot where he let one fly that whistled over Copley’s glove and under the bar. In the second clip below you can see Pasta ducking like it was beer league warmups and he was afraid of getting domed behind the net.
That score held until the third and it looked like the B’s were going to cruise to another 2 points, until they weren’t. Just about midway through the final stanza, Adrian Kempe got his first of the night when he was left alone at the post for an easy put away on a rebound. Just like that it’s 2-1 and we’ve got a game. And this is where Stripes enters the chat. First an unbelievably soft call on Connor Clifton put the B’s on the PK with less than 4mins to play. Then an even softer call (believe it, it’s true) on Brandon Carlo puts the Bruins on with a 2-man disadvantage. Less than 3:30 left in a 1 goal game and a team gets a gift-wrapped 5 on 3?? I don’t want to be the old guy yelling at clouds, but this is not the NHL that I grew up with. Of course the Kings tied it up on the 2-man advantage.
The Bruins carried a power play into overtime (another soft call but at least consistency? I guess) but couldn’t get anything going as both teams had horrible puck management in the extra period. So, we head to the shootout.
BOS Charlie Coyle – goal
LAK Gabriel Vilardi – goal
BOS Jake DeBrusk – goal
LAK Adrian Kempe – goal
BOS David Pastrnak – denied
LAK Kevin Fiala – denied
BOS Brad Marchand – denied
LAK Anze Kopitar – denied
BOS David Krejci – denied
LAK Arthur Kaliyev – denied
BOS Taylor Hall – denied
LAK Phillip Danault – denied
BOS Patrice Bergeron – denied
LAK Trevor Moore – goal and the game winner. Of course Moore scored as he played for HC Jim Montgomery at University of Denver and was a Maple Leaf for a few years. The Bruins get back at it again on Saturday for a matinee vs. CBJ and a pregame ceremony to honor Bergeron for his 1000th point earlier this season. Also keep an eye out for a new podcast to drop Saturday as we have another full docket to get out to the people.
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The Morning Skate 