The Kings defeated the Bruins 5-4 in overtime on Saturday afternoon, picking up a hard-earned two points and improving to 2-1-0 on their current road trip.
A tightly-contested game from start to finish, the Kings never had the lead until their OT goal. Additionally, the Bruins never held more than a two-goal lead for the entire afternoon.
A pair of rare goals by defensemen Matt Roy and Vladislav Gavrikov kept the Kings in this contest entering the final frame. The Kings tied the game early on in the third but the Bruins regained the lead just over a minute later. With an empty net, captain Anže Kopitar scored his 17th of the season and sent this game into overtime. This was the sixth consecutive game between these two teams in Boston that has extended beyond regulation.
Building off of that point – it’s not over until it’s over. This has been the mantra for LA in their recent games in Boston. This was the Kings’ fourth consecutive trip to TD Garden where they tied the game with under 2:30 to go in regulation and went on to win in overtime.
Clarke’s Dramatic First Goal: As the eighth-overall pick in 2021, expectations for Brandt Clarke have been high ever since he arrived in Los Angeles. Clarke certainly met those lofty expectations tonight by scoring his first career National Hockey League goal on a breakaway in OT. In what will probably be lost in the excitement of scoring his first NHL goal in such dramatic fashion, it’s worth noting that Clarke also made a key defensive play against Brad Marchand early in the first period. This allowed the Kings to stay in the game rather than having it slip away from them.
Impact Rookies: In addition to Clarke’s first career goal, Alex Laferriere picked up his second career goal against Boston in as many contests. The former Harvard standout has proven to be an effective left-winger alongside PL Dubois, and the new trio of Laferriere-Dubois-Byfield each contributed with a point tonight.
Quick Turnaround: The Kings will depart for Pittsburgh on Saturday evening. Coach Jim Hiller will be tasked with keeping his team fresh and mentally prepared to take on a Penguins team that beat the Kings earlier this season in Los Angeles. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00pm Pacific, but with the Jaromir Jagr jersey retirement ceremony happening before the game, the first period will likely start closer to 4:00.
Stat Sheet Takeaways: LA’s top three centers – Anže Kopitar, Phillip Danault, PL Dubois – had 21:22, 19:27, and 16:30 of ice-time tonight, respectively. Even with Dubois trailing Danault by nearly three minutes, Dubois has now played at least 16 minutes three games in a row. This is contrary to his deployment earlier in the season as he was previously playing closer to 14-15 minutes per night, and something that is definitely worth keeping an eye on going forward.
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