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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