A pair of third period goals lifted the Boston Bruins over the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 Saturday night at Staples Center. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Kings, and dropped Los Angeles out of first place in the Pacific Division.
Milan Lucic scored his 24th goal of the season at 4:37 of the third period to snap a 1-1 tie, and Chris Kelly added his 19th goal at 5:56 of the period to extend Boston's lead.
Both teams attacked heavily in the first period, with the Kings gettting 15 shots on goal to 11 for the Bruins. However, both Jonathan Quick and Tim Thomas were on their games, and the first stanza ended in a scoreless tie.
Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 5:18 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season, assisted by Brad Marchand. Eight minutes later, Colin Fraser lit the lamp with his second goal of the season for the Kings to tie the score at 1-1.
Slava Voynov pulled the Kings to within one with 5:14 remaining with his seventh goal of the season. A high-sticking call on Jordan Caron with 4:03 left gave the Kings a power play but they couldn't get the equalizer despite a remarkable 19 shots in the final period. Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal with one second left to provide the final margin.
Thomas saved 41 of 43 shots for the win, his 32nd victory of the season. Quick saved 22 of 25 shots for the Kings in defeat.
The Kings open up a four-game road trip on Monday night in Vancouver to face the Northwest Division-leading Canucks.
For more news and information on Kings hockey, be sure to read Jewels From The Crown.