Well, That Was Quick: Bruins Blow Late Lead, Fall To Kings In Shootout

Bruins defensemen Zdeno Chara cross-checks Michal Handzus down to the ground after the whistle in the B's 4-3 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings

Arriving at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Bruins came into today’s contest on the verge of accomplishing something fans simply didn’t expect given the rash of injuries that has wreaked havoc on the Bruins in 2010: capturing four points out of a possible six on a very tough Western Conference road trip. Helping the B’s case was the return of Mark Stuart to the line-up after a broken sternum kept the Bruins iron-man defensemen out of action for 14 games along with the return of David Krejci. However, the Hockey Gods were up to their black-magic on the Bruins once again as Dennis Wideman and Marco Sturm were late-game scratches with minor injuries.

Get two back, lose two. Will this pattern ever end?

Nevertheless, the B’s took to the ice in the Pacific time-zone for the last time this regular season and the battle of Olympian American goaltenders was on between the Kings’ Jonathan Quick and defending Vezina-winner Tim Thomas.

Kicking off the contest was a scrap between Bruins defensemen Adam McQuaid and Los Angeles winger Brandon Segal after Segal’s hit on McQuaid in the corner rubbed the B’s blue-liner the wrong way as McQuaid wasted no time in getting up and coming at Segal. Fighting for a roster spot now with the return of Stuart, McQuaid has made his presence known out there against opposing forwards, and with two fights in his last three games, it’s very clear that the 6’5″ defensemen from Prince Edward Island is intent on making the most of his time on the ice for the B’s. Trading blows, McQuaid gets in a few good shots before Segal apparently loses his footing and drags the Bruins rookie down to the ice with him.

Connecting for his 11th goal of the season, Jarret Stoll poked a determined puck through the crowded Tim Thomas and a sprawled out Tim Thomas to give the Kings an early 1-0 lead with under 10 minutes left to play in the first period. Answering right back int he form of a fight, Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton and Raitis Ivanans dropped their mitts at center ice and had a go. After some dancing and wrestling, as is the case with any “staged fight”, the significantly larger Ivanans clearly got the decision over Thornton as the two headed off to the sin-bin for fighting.

Looking as if the B’s were contently going to the locker room down by one, Miroslav Satan connected with a lethal shot right by Quick to knot the game up at one. Satan’s goal, his second with the Bruins, was set up on a great breakout pass from Milan Lucic. Another great sign as both of these pivotal Boston forwards are getting their legs back, Satan after sitting out half the NHL season, and Lucic after missing nearly 20 games with an ankle sprain.

Answering with a much stronger second period, the Bruins were able to pot two goals in 11 seconds midway through the period, both of which coming from the line the B’s desperately need to get going. The line of Blake Wheeler, David Krejci, and Michael Ryder, who annihilated the competition in 2008-09, led the charge in the Bruins’ otherwise sloppy second period. Scoring first for Boston was the 6’4″ gentle-giant Blake Wheeler (technically, his skate, but there was no blatant kicking motion), and in the process scored his fifth goal in the month of January. Wasting no time in giving themselves some distance, the Krejci line connected for another goal just 11 ticks later when Wheeler made an excellent cross-ice pass on a two-on-two to Michael Ryder, who easily put the puck by the overwhelmed Jonathan Quick for his 11th goal of the season.

Then just like, the complexion of the game was turned completely upside down by some questionable calls from the boys in the zebra-stripes headed by Kerry Fraser, go figure.

In the final three minutes and 29 seconds of the second period, Boston was called for three penalties. The first of which being a Mark Stuart holding call after the (now-bearded) defensemen clenched the stick of Kings forward Jarret Stoll after Stoll’s questionable hit against the boards put a bee in the bonnet of the always intense Stuart. Just as time was about to expire on the penalty to Stuart, another Bruin was sent to the box when Trent Whitfield was deemed guilty of an extremely loose interference call. Escaping the two-man advantage unscathed, the Bruins were right back on the penalty kill when alternate-captain Derek Morris got called for a hooking penalty with just 22 seconds remaining in the period.

Able to kill off yet another two-man advantage, it took the Bruins a whole thirty seconds to be back down to three-men when Stuart was sent off for the second time in five minutes, this time for a cross-check on forward Ryan Smyth. However, to the dismay of the Kings, the Bruins killed off L.A.’s third 5-on-3 of the contest and finished the merry-go-round of penalties allowing a total of zero goals on the penalty kill, stymieing all five Kings power-plays.

However, the B’s were unable to escape further damage from the Kings as two goals in a three minute span, scored by the faces of the Kings offense in Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown knotted the contest up at three and for the second time in three nights, the Bruins were headed to overtime. Once again, five minutes of overtime provided no decision and the B’s were off to yet another shootout.

With the Kings electing to shoot first, it was Anze Kopitar who struck again, putting an easy looking goal through Thomas’ five-hole to give the Kings the early lead in the top of the first round, instantly putting pressure on the Boston shooters. Calling upon David Krejci as their first shooter, the 23-year old Czech lost the puck of the handle of his stick and after one round the Kings had a damning 1-0 lead. Going second for the Kings was defensemen Jack Johnson, who had Thomas beat but was unable to ring the puck in off the edge of his stick as it trickled just wide. Already with one goal in the game, the B’s countered with Miroslav Satan, who looked befuddled and was honestly looking as if he was just winging it as he skated down on Quick and fired off a weak shot.

Having the fate of the game on his stick, Kings captain Dustin Brown continued his clutch play by ending the contest with a shootout goal that barely squeaked through the pads of Tim Thomas, securing a win for the Kings.

A Tip Of The Cap To..

Jarret Stoll was simply all over place in the Kings comeback win. Logging 19 minutes and 49 seconds of time on ice, the 27-year old center had eight shots on goal, goaded Bruins defensemen Mark Stuart into a penalty and was winning nearly every one-on-one battle he was in.

What’s Next?

The Bruins will pack their bags and head back to chilly Boston where they’ll prepare for a Monday matinee against the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins are 4-0-0 on the year against the Sens and come into Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day game with hopes of Patrice Bergeron perhaps joining the line-up. While the battle for second place in the Northeast Division has raged on between the two clubs, if the Bruins go with Tim Thomas in net, expect the B’s to have an elevated chance of winning considering Thomas’ 16-5-2 career record against Ottawa with four shut-outs.

Tweet Tweet: Follow me on Twitter!

“I’ll Facebook You!”: Add the new HockeyIndependent Bruins Facebook profile to your friends list today!

What The Heck Is A Formspring, Anyhow?: Have a question for me? Ask me on Formspring!