Final: Los Angeles 3, Boston 2 (Kings win shootout 3-2)

Another improved effort – after a sluggish first period anyway – and another disappointing final result for the Bruins. They did get a point for the first time in six games, and actually climbed from 12^th to ninth in East with the single point they got. They can thank Mark Stuart for that, as his crushing hit on Anze Kopitar in the second period woke up the Bruins, got the building rocking and helped the Bruins take a small, but important step in the right direction.

Records: Boston 23-21-9, 55 points; Los Angeles 32-19-3, 67 points

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Unleash Lucic – It was Stuart, not Milan Lucic, that provided the emotional spark and set the physical tone in this one. Lucic wasn’t horrible, as he was credited with three hits in 14:47 and nearly had a goal in the first, clanging a shot off the post off a feed from Marc Savard. But it was hardly a vintage Lucic performance, as he had just one shot and took a bad cross-checking penalty that led to LA’s first goal. The Bruins need the vintage Lucic to reappear, and soon.

2. Keep Kopitar in check – Stuart did his best by blasting Kopitar once, but to his credit Kopitar shook that hit off. He set up the Kings first goal in the first and scored the game-tying goal in the third. It was the second straight game against the Bruins that he scored in the third to force overtime. And just like in LA, Kopitar scored in the shootout, this time with a filthy move as he cut to his left, then reached back to tuck the puck in around Tim Thomas.

3. Make the refs earn their paycheck – The Bruins accomplished this one, as they drew seven penalties on the day. That’s the most power-play chances they’ve had in a game since a Dec. 4 game against Montreal. They went 0 for 7 that day and appeared headed for a similar result in this one with no goals on their first five opportunities. But they scored on their final two power plays, giving them just enough offense to earn a point. They gave the refs a little too much to do though, committing five minors themselves. One of them negated half of a four-minute power play, while the Kings converted two of the four man-advantage chances.

Quote of the Night:

Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, on the feeling after earning a point in a shootout loss:

“We’ve worked our way back to the level of frustration at least,” said Thomas. “I think we were beyond frustration before and we’ve had two games where we’ve played really hard and worked really hard. We got one point tonight. I sure wish we could have finished it off, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

Key Play of the Game:

It’s already been mentioned, but there’s no doubt that the turning point of this game came at 4:58 of the second when Stuart laid out Kopitar. The Bruins had been flat before that and the Garden was dead. Both the team and the building sprung to life after Stuart belted Kopitar, then duked it out with Wayne Simmonds. The Bruins couldn’t convert the ensuing four-minute power play, but they struck with the man-advantage a little later and battled LA even the rest of the way.

Fight Card:

There was just the one fight in this one, with Simmonds picking up the instigator (plus a second minor penalty for instigating while wearing a visor) as he immediately raced over to challenge Stuart after the hit on Kopitar. Stuart obliged, and while it was a short bout, it was a spirited one with both players throwing right hands with mean intentions before falling.

History Lesson:

The Bruins are 1-8-2 in their last 11 and 0-5-2 in the last seven – their longest losing streak since 1997, when they went 0-7-0 from March 17 to April 3 en route to the league’s worst record and the right to select Joe Thornton first overall. They’ve also lost six straight at home, the second-longest home losing streak in history, trailing only an 11-game home skid in 1924-25. The Kings, meanwhile, have won six straight on the road, their second longest such streak in franchise history, behind only an eight-game run in 1974-75.

Flynn’s Finest:

Marco Sturm made a triumphant return as he scored Boston’s first goal in his first game back after missing six games with a leg injury. Sturm showed no ill effects from the injury, as he was his usual speedy self flying down the wing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. It was Marc Savard, however, who set up Sturm’s power-play strike, as Drew Doughty’s clearing attempt hit a linesman and Savard pounced on the loose puck and fed it over to Sturm. Sturm held it for several long seconds, allowing Doughty to slide past before firing it home. It was Savard’s second straight game with an assist in his first two games back from a knee injury. He also added five shots and scored in the shootout (as did Michael Ryder), while Bergeron had a team-high seven shots and dominated the face-off circle, winning 15 of 22 draws (68 percent). Steve Begin also returned to the lineup with a solid effort, dishing out four hits and winning 3 of 4 draws in 9:37. Stuart also had three hits, including the game-changer on Kopitar, and three blocked shots.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

The power play finally struck for two goals, but it was pretty ugly on the first five attempts. The Bruins didn’t even manage a shot on their first two chances, and finished with just six total shots on the seven power plays. It was their first game with two power-play goals since Jan. 5, but they had a chance to do a lot more damage and if they had, they wouldn’t have had to settle for just one point. Blake Wheeler was nearly invisible, failing to record a single shot, hit or any other stat despite playing 15:59, including 3:18 on the power play. He also failed on his shootout attempt. Zdeno Chara was given the opening shot of the shootout, but flubbed his attempt as he misfired on a slapper in close for a very ugly way to start the shootout. Wheeler’s linemates didn’t do much either, as Ryder and David Krejci each finished without a shot, though Krejci did set up Recchi’s power-play goal. Krejci was also just 2 of 12 (17 percent) on draws and took a bad hooking call in the third. The lack of discipline was widespread, with Thomas taking a bad high-sticking call, Lucic going off for cross-checking, Stuart for slashing and Savard for hooking. Savard was lucky he didn’t get called for diving for exaggerating a tripping call later. Dennis Wideman didn’t finish a minus (no one did, as there were no even-strength goals in the game, but still …), though he was on the ice for Kopitar’s power-play goal and did have three more giveaways in a game-high 28:24 (why again is he still playing this much?). Byron Bitz only played 5:45, but didn’t have a shot and just one hit. Yet he was the reason Shawn Thornton was a healthy scratch for the first time this year. That move was simply a horrible message for coach Claude Julien to send to his team. Thornton isn’t the most talented guy on the team, but in a season marked by questionable commitment and effort from many Bruins, Thornton is one of the few guys on the team to give an honest effort each and every night. He’s also one of the few vocal leaders left on the team, a role desperately needed as the Bruins try to claw out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves. But if he’s not going to be in the lineup, that veteran voice will be greatly muted.

Next: The Bruins continue their homestand when they take on Eastern Conference leader Washington on Tuesday.

Down on the Farm: The Providence Bruins enjoyed an offensive breakout as they rolled to an 8-2 win at Springfield. The eight goals were a season-high for the Baby B’s, who had scored seven goals total in their previous five games. Nine players picked up points, seven had multiple points and six different players scored goals as Providence improved to 22-23-3-0. Mikko Lehtonen and Jordan Knackstedt each had two goals, Brad Marchand tallied a goal and two assists, Jeff Penner and Andy Wozniewski added a goal and an assist each and Alain Goulet and Trent Whitfield each chipped in two assists. These Bruins had no trouble on the power play, converting 5 of 6 chances, while Jamie Arniel also scored on a penalty shot. Kevin Regan (South Boston, Mass.) made 22 saves for the win and tough guy Lane MacDermid was busy with bouts against Jake Taylor and Alex Plante. The Baby B’s return home tomorrow to face Springfield (16-25-8-2) in the back end of a home-and-home series.

BOSTON – It was a step in the right direction, but just a baby step.

The Bruins need to make some serious leaps forward in the near future, but they’ll have to settle for this small stride for now as they at least earned a point with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Kings.

“We’re really pushing to get some wins here,” said coach Claude Julien. “We competed better. We had better opportunities. … We’re better. We’re coming around. It’s just that right now the end result means so much to us. That’s the part that’s disappointing.”

The Bruins took their first lead of the game 1:20 into the third, cashing in on their second-straight power-play chance. David Krejci maneuvered around Michal Handzus down the right boards and fed it out from to Mark Recchi, who redirected it in for a 2-1 lead.

That lead didn’t last long, as LA answered with a power-play strike of its own after Krejci was whistled for hooking. With Handzus providing the screen in front, Anze Kopitar fired in a wrister from the right circle at 4:29 to make it 2-2.

It stayed that until the shootout, which lasted six rounds before Jarret Stoll scored the game-winner for the Kings. Michael Ryder and Marc Savard had the shootout goals for Boston, while Kopitar and Ryan Smyth also scored for LA.

BOSTON – The Bruins finally showed a pulse in the second period.

Mark Stuart gave the club a much-needed jump-start when he nailed Anze Kopitar with a beautiful hit at the LA blue line. Wayne Simmonds took exception and dropped the gloves with Stuart. It was a quick, even bout as both players threw a few hard rights before falling, but the Bruins came out winners when Simmonds was hit for instigating, plus another minor for instigating with a visor. That gave the Bruins a four-minute power play.

Boston didn’t accomplish much with that, as Tim Thomas took a bad high-sticking penalty after a whistle to negate half of the advantage. The Bruins still couldn’t convert when Rob Scuderi went off for cross-checking, giving them a 5-on-3 for 30 seconds.

But the sixth time was the charm for the Bruins. After going 0 fot 5 on the power play, they finally converted after Brandon Segal was called for delay of game for clearing the puck over the glass. Boston caught a break from the officials for a change, as Drew Doughty’s clear hit the linesman and stayed in. Marc Savard then feed it over to Marco Sturm all alone in front. Sturm held it seemingly forever, allowing Doughty to slide past before firing in a wrister to make it 1-1 at 15:16.

Both teams had other chances to score in the second. Simmonds had a goal called back after replay ruled his tip in was a high stick, while Zdeno Chara clanged a post with a point shot. Sturm nearly had a second goal on a short-handed bid after Savard went off for hooking.

Savard was lucky not to get a second penalty. He could have easily been called for diving when he greatly exaggerated a trip by Scott Parse with 20 seconds left in the period. Instead, only Parse was called and the Bruins will open the third with 1:40 left on their seventh power play.

The seven power plays are the most Boston has had since a Dec. 4 game against Montreal. They were 0 for 7 that night. Their season-high was eight power play against Carolina on Oct. 3. They also had a season-high four power-play goals in that 7-2 win.

BOSTON – The Bruins are slowly getting healthy.

After getting Marc Savard and Byron Bitz back last night, Boston welcomes back Marco Sturm and Steve Begin for tonight’s matchup with Los Angeles.

To make room for them, Vladimir Sobotka and Shawn Thornton are the healthy scratches, along with defenseman Adam McQuaid. It’s the first healthy scratch of the year for Thornton, and his deletion from the lineup is a curious move.

Thornton is one of the few Bruins who has given a honest effort every night. This is a team that needs to work harder and get more physical and more emotionally invested in games to snap out of its current 1-8-1 slump. Thornton is one of the guys who can provide a bit of that, especially against a physical Kings lineup that includes heavyweight Raitis Ivanans, as well as capable scrappers Sean O’Donnell, Matt Greene, Brandon Segal and Wayne Simmonds. Seeing the hard-working and popular Thornton be relegated to the press box isn’t sending the right message to the rest of the team. But it’s just the latest of many head-scratching moves by the Bruins this season.

Tim Thomas is back in goal tonight after Tuukka Rask got the start last night in Buffalo. Thomas will face his soon to be Olympic teammate, as Jonathan Quick (Hamden, Conn.) will be between the pipes for the Kings. Defenseman Jack Johnson and forward Teddy Purcell are out for the Kings, who are going for their first six-game road winning streak since 1974-75. The Bruins, meanwhile, are 0-5-0 on home ice since beating Philadelphia at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1.

Matchup: Los Angeles Kings at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN; 98.5 FM)

Records: Boston 23-21-8, 54 points; Los Angeles 31-19-3, 65 points

Past History: It was a bitter defeat for the Bruins in the first meeting of the season. The Kings rallied from 3-1 down after two periods to force overtime as Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown scored in the third, then those two scored the only goals in the shootout for a 4-3 Kings win. All-time, the Bruins are 78-33-13-2 against the Kings and 44-12-6-1 at home against the Kings.

Bruins Connections: Stay-at-home defenseman Sean O’Donnell went back home to wear his career started last year, returning to LA, where he made his NHL debut in 1995. O’Donnell played his first six seasons there, but also spent three years in Boston from 2001-04, putting up 5-47-52 totals with 275 penalty minutes in 232 games. Former Bruin netminder Bill Ranford now serves as the Kings goaltending coach, while Mike O’Connell, who played defense for the Bruins from 1980-86 and later served as assistant general manager, interim head coach and GM for the club, is now in the Kings front office in charge of pro development and special assignments.

New England Ties: Goalie Jonathan Quick hails from Hamden, Conn. and has been a workhorse for the Kings this season. He’s second only to Martin Brodeur with 48 games started in goal, with a 29-16-3 record, 2.56 GAA and .907 save percentage. Defenseman Peter Harrold is from Ohio, but did play his college hockey at Boston College. The Kings front office is led by general manager Dean Lombardi, who was born in Holyoke, Mass. and grew up in Ludlow, Mass., while O’Connell still resides in Cohasset, Mass.

Injury Update: The Kings are missing defenseman Davis Drewiske (shoulder), right wing Justin Williams (ankle) and center Andrei Loktionov (shoulder) on injured reserve, while defenseman Jack Johnson is questionable with an arm injury. The Bruins got Marc Savard (knee) and Byron Bitz (undisclosed) back last night against Buffalo, and could have Steve Begin (undisclosed) return today. Marco Sturm (leg) is close as well, but not expected to play in this one. Andrew Ference (groin) remains on injured reserve.

Fight Card: There was a pair of fights in the first meeting in LA, as Adam McQuaid battled fellow rookie Brandon Segal and Shawn Thornton and Raitis Ivanans clashed in a heavyweight matchup. Ivanans also has a history with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. They battled when Ivanans was first called up to the NHL by Montreal in 2005. After an even scrap, Chara, then still with Ottawa, delivered a brutal cheap shot, hitting Ivanans with a late punch when Ivanans was on the ground and the linesmen had already stepped in. That punch broke Ivanans’ orbital bone and nearly derailed his NHL career. They haven’t fought again since, but Ivanans would surely love a chance for a little payback. The Kings have just 24 fighting majors this year, led by Ivanans’ 10, while O’Donnell, Matt Greene and Wayne Simmonds each have four. The Bruins have 29 fighting majors this year, led by Thornton’s 13.

Matchup to Watch: Blake Wheeler vs. Drew Doughty. This is a clash of two of second-year players who have seen their career paths head in slightly different directions this season. Both were strong as rookies, but Wheeler had the bigger impact with 21-24-45 totals and a plus-36 rating, second-best in the NHL. This year, he’s at 12-17-29 through 52 games, but is a minus-8. He came alive early in January with four goals in three games, but has just one goal and two assists in nine games since. That goal and one of the assists came against the Kings though, and the Bruins need a similar effort in this one from Wheeler, who is back with his linemates from last year, David Krejci and Michael Ryder. Wheeler plays the left side on that line, which will put him in the crosshairs of the right-shooting Doughty. The second-year blueliner was solid as a rookie with 6-21-27 totals, but was also a minus-17. This year, he’s second on the Kings with 10-31-41 totals and is a robust plus-16 through 53 games. He’s also got a goal and an assist in two games against Boston.

Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Unleash Lucic – The Bruins need an emotional spark and someone to set a physical tone to help them get back on track. In the past, Milan Lucic has supplied that physical presence and intimidation. Injuries have limited Lucic’s play this year, but he’s been back for 10 games now and should be ready to start dishing out the punishment again. He does have 64 hits in 20 games and scored his first goal since his return last night. He’s also had some success against LA, with 1-2-3 totals in three games, including a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Kings as a rookie – his first career goal and assist. Another trifecta like that is just what the Bruins need.

2. Keep Kopitar in check – Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 22-31-53 totals in 53 games, and after slumping for a while (2-4-6 totals in 17 games) following a red-hot start (14-19-33 in first 24 games), Kopitar is again filling up the scoresheet (6-8-14 in his last 12 games). He also has three goals in three games against the Bruins, including the game-tying goal at 12:54 of the third in the first meeting this year. He also added a shootout goal that night.

3. Make the refs earn their paychecks – The Bruins have had their problems with officials of late, what with Dan O’Rourke knocking over Dennis Wideman to give Ottawa a breakaway goal and Dean Morton and Tom Kowal giving Lucic a high-sticking penalty against Columbus when a Blue Jacket was actually cut by his own teammate’s stick. Those miscues fall on the zebras, but Boston’s lack of power-play chances (168, 29^th in NHL) isn’t caused by a conspiracy by the officials; it shows a lack of willingness by the Bruins to pay the price in the dirty areas and get in aggressively on the forecheck to force opponents to commit penalties. With Marc Savard back, the power play (2 for 20 in the 10-game skid) should be more effective, but that won’t matter if they don’t start drawing more penalties. So hopefully the Bruins will make the refs raise their hands a few times in this one.

The Lowdown: The Bruins put together a much better effort against Buffalo, but still could come away with any points as they dropped to 1-8-1 in their last 10 games. They also dropped down to 12^th place in the East. Only four teams in the entire NHL have less points than the Bruins, though in a sign of just how crazy the point system is in the NHL with points handed out for overtime and shootout losses, the Bruins are also just two points out of sixth place. It won’t be easy to get those points against the Kings, who have won four straight and six of their last seven. LA has developed into an especially tough road team. The Kings are 17-10-1 away from the Staples Center this year, and come in riding a five-game road winning streak. They haven’t won six in a row on the road since 1974-75 when they set a franchise record with eight straight road wins. The Bruins need to end that streak while ending their own five-game losing streak to pull out of their downward spiral and try to start climbing back into the playoff race.