Locked at 1-1 after two periods, the Bruins again showed their mettle in the third, getting a winning goal from Marat Khusnutdinov and a couple of insurance tallies to put away the Kings (0-4-2).<\/p>\n
Alex Laferriere put LA ahead, 1-0, just 31 ticks into this one as the Bruins \u2014 playing for the second straight night \u2014 came out with lead in their legs.<\/p>\n
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That was all Jeremy Swayman allowed, however, as he stopped the next 25 shots to improve to 6-1 on the season and 7-1 lifetime against the Kings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been getting [great goaltending] the whole year from both [Swayman and Michael DiPietro,\u201d said David Pastrnak. \u201cThey keep us in the game and Sway is obviously outstanding. We try to limit the shots that he sees, so it\u2019s not too much on him, but he\u2019s been outstanding and kept us in every game win or lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fittingly, Pastrnak tied with a wicked wrister, beating Anton Forsberg blocker side on National Pasta Day.<\/p>\n
The Bruins got their legs going in the second and third, keeping pace with the rested Kings (who had three days off coming in) before the offensive explosion settled things.<\/p>\n
Other observations from LA-LA Land:<\/p>\n
Mixed emotions:<\/p>\n
With top center Pavel Zacha (upper-body injury) out, Sturm had to rejigger his lines, but the combinations weren\u2019t jelling to his likings. So, he threw the lines in a blender late in the second and third and came up with a winning recipe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in the first period [the Kings] were much better, no doubt. Second period, we thought there was a little bit of a change,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cAnd yeah, in the third period we just continued to play our game. That\u2019s all. Yes, I mixed it up a little bit just to get a little bit more out of some of the guys and lines, but it was just a great team effort today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stuck in neutral:<\/p>\n
The Kings employ a 1-3-1 neutral zone trap to clog the middle of the ice, and it gave the Bruins problems early on. Speed and short passes help Boston become more connected allowing it to generate more chances.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not an easy scheme to break because so few teams employ it, according to Pastrnak.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard because you have to pick up a lot of speed every time and the timing has to be perfect by all five guys. And when sometimes you maybe fatigue or something and you start standing still, then there\u2019s no answer,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s not easy because like I said, you\u2019re not used to seeing that night in and night out. So, we battled with it a little bit. But yeah, I think the key is you have to play fast whether the puck is moving or like I said, pick up a lot of speed and try to break it with the speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Filling in nicely:<\/p>\n
With top 6 defenseman Nikita Zadorov (benched) and Zacha out, Jonathan Aspirot paired with Will Borgen on the back line and Sean Kuraly drew back into this fourth-line center role. Despite having been out of the lineup for a stretch, the two drew in seamlessly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s not easy to be out that long, but I thought [Aspirot] was outstanding today. He was blocking shots, he was aggressive, he was mean, won a lot of battles, so he was excellent,\u201d said Sturm.<\/p>\n
As for Kuraly, who won 10 of 12 faceoffs, Sturm said, \u201che was a real pro the last week or so. He worked extremely hard in practice. He was positive and I\u2019m very, very happy that he had a great game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Odds and ends:<\/p>\n
Matt Poitras assisted on Khusnutdinov\u2019s winner, giving him points in four of his last five games … Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm finished as plus-3s … Mason Lohrei took a deflected puck off the side of the face and though he sported a good-sized welt, didn\u2019t miss a shift … Mark Kastelic handily won a first-period bout with Samuel Helenius.<\/p>\n
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @globejimmcbride<\/a>.<\/p>\n