Wednesday, December 03, 2014
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Quick, Kings shut out Bruins

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[December 03, 2014]  LOS ANGELES -- Despite their inconsistent play, the Los Angeles Kings are pretty reliable on home ice. They prevailed again at Staples Center by blanking the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

Goalie Jonathan Quick recorded his 34th career shutout, and the Kings earned a 2-0 victory over the Bruins before an announced crowd of 18,230.

"It's two points," said Quick, who stopped all 31 shots he faced in registering his third shutout of the season. "We got two points against a great hockey team. We definitely have areas we can continue to be better at, but it was definitely a step better than the other night."

Left winger Tanner Pearson and center Tyler Toffoli each scored for the Kings (13-7-5), who bounced back from Saturday's 4-1 debacle against the Chicago Blackhawks to win for the second time in three outings. Pearson and Toffoli have 10 goals apiece on the season, which leads the Kings.

Los Angeles leads the NHL in home wins (11) and home points (23). The Kings have an 11-3-1 mark at Staples.

Quick made a sprawling save of a shot by Boston defenseman Torey Krug with about 12 minutes remaining that would have tied the score. Quick, who is 10-1-1 in his past 12 home games, has won seven of 10 career meetings against the Bruins.

"The one save he made in the third period was very 'Quickie' like, and the one we probably needed to get the two points," said Kings center Anze Kopitar, who assisted on both goals. "It was a great performance obviously by him."

Boston netminder Niklas Svedberg also had a strong performance, saving 33 of 34 shots, but he and the Bruins came up short.

"It was a tight game," Svedberg said. "We played pretty well and they played pretty well. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a goal. It was a tough loss. It's frustrating when you don't win games."

The Bruins (14-11-1), who were coming off a 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night, fell for the fourth time in five games. Boston is 0-5 this season in back-to-back contests. The Bruins' offense is struggling, managing just 16 goals in the past 10 games.

"It is hard to criticize the effort of this hockey club right now because we did everything well," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We killed a five-on-three, and then they took it to us there for quite a while and we got caught cheating on that (first) goal."

Kopitar grabbed a loose puck and delivered a crisp pass to Pearson, who fired a wrist shot past Svedberg for 1-0 lead with 3:40 left in the first period. That turned out to be the difference for Los Angeles.

Toffoli added an empty-netter with 50 seconds remaining in the game.

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Los Angeles had a five-on-three opportunity for almost a 90 seconds midway through the first period but failed to take advantage of it. The Kings also came up empty on two other power plays.

Boston never got any power-play opportunities because the Kings' lone penalty -- an embellishment call on center Jordan Nolan with four seconds left in the first period -- occurred at the same time Boston's Milan Lucic was whistled for crosschecking.

Kings defenseman Alec Martinez played for the first time in seven games after undergoing surgery on a finger. Martinez had 19:01 of time on ice.

"It felt good to be back playing again," Martinez said. "Obviously, it's not too much fun being out. As for my game, I'm not too happy with it. Have to shake off a little rust there, but I know I've got to get better the next game.

"Ultimately, at the end of the day, we got the two points. That's all I care about."

NOTES: Kings coach Darryl Sutter on NHL legend Jean Beliveau, who died Tuesday at the age of 83: "I only knew him through business, but as a young boy growing up, I watched him. Jean Beliveau was a classy player, and I remember him so well, how elegant he was on the ice." Added Bruins coach Claude Julien: "I'm actually a little in shock to hear (about Beliveau's death). He is an unbelievable man." ... Los Angeles RW Marian Gaborik missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff also were scratches for the Kings. ... Boston's scratches: D Joe Morrow, C Seth Griffith and LW Craig Cunningham. ... The Bruins resume their four-game trip at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. ... The Kings visit the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

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