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Kings At Bruins: Los Angeles Looks To Snap Three-Game Skid

(Sports Network) - The Boston Bruins will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they host the Los Angeles Kings tonight at TD Garden. The Bruins have won their last three games and posted a pair of shutouts over that stretch, including Thursday's 4-0 victory over visiting Florida. Boston previously won four in a row this season from Oct. 10-19 and can equal that mark tonight.

Boston, however, has struggled against Los Angeles in recent years. The Kings won both meetings in 2009-10 and they have taken three straight -- all beyond regulation -- and four of five overall in the series. LA has also come out on top in its last three trips to Beantown and hasn't lost as the road club in this series since Jan. 10, 2002.

Milan Lucic and Tuukka Rask were the heroes for Boston in its most recent victory as the former recorded a natural hat trick and the latter stopped all 41 shots he faced in leading the Bruins to the 4-0 victory over the Panthers.

Lucic's hat trick was the second of his career and provides a highlight for his good start to the season. The 22-year-old forward has scored 10 goals with seven assists and has provided at least one point in 14 of 17 games this year.

Nathan Horton assisted on all of Lucic's goals, while Rask recorded his first shutout and win of the season. Rask entered Thursday's game with an 0-4-1 record, but the Finnish netminder still has a stellar 2.24 goals-against average and .939 save percentage this year.

It's unclear if Tim Thomas, who is 10-1-0 with a 1.37 GAA on the year, or Rask will get the start in net tonight.

Bruins forward David Krejci has missed the last six games with a concussion and is questionable for tonight's test. Krejci had 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in 11 games before getting injured.

Boston is 4-4-1 as the host this year and will aim for a third straight home victory tonight.

While the Bruins are rolling, the Kings are attempting to halt their longest slide of 2010-11 as they have dropped three in a row on the heels of a six- game win streak.

After losing for the first time in nine home games on Wednesday versus Columbus, Los Angeles kicked off a four-game road trip last night and lost, 4-2, in Buffalo to fall to just 4-5-0 as the visiting club this season.

Dustin Brown and Wayne Simmonds lit the lamp for the Kings, who have notched only one win in their last 12 trips to Buffalo and lost to an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time in six chances this year.

"We have to get better at shutting teams down when we do have the lead," said Kings forward Anze Kopitar.

Forward Justin Williams had his career-best 11-game point streak halted and Jonathan Bernier gave up four goals on 26 shots faced.

Jonathan Quick is likely to get the start in net tonight for Los Angeles and is 10-2-0 with a 1.73 GAA this season. The 24-year-old has won all three of his previous career starts versus the Bruins while stopping 76-of-83 shots faced.

For more Kings news and analysis, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Jewels From The Crown.