By: Cam Manning | Follow me on Twitter @Cam_Manning133
It was a great start to the west coast road trip as the Boston Bruins remain undefeated in the new year as they beat the LA Kings 5-2 at Crypto.com Arena. Trent Frederic’s third-period heroics broke the deadlock as he scored two goals in 34 seconds to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead late. David Pastrnak put the icing on the cake, burying his second goal of the game, an empty netter, which gave the Bruins the victory.
It was a relatively evenly matched tilt during the first twenty minutes of action. The Bruins and Kings were playing very sound defensive hockey and not giving up high-quality scoring opportunities early in the first half of the first period. However, the Kings struck first on a dominating shift from Philip Danault, Alex Iafallo, and Viktor Arvidsson. The Kings brought the heat with a heavy forecheck and worked the puck high to low, which led to Iafallo circling the net and finding Danault back door, beating goaltender Jeremy Swayman and giving the Kings a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The turning point for the black and gold came in the second period after Bruins forward Brad Marchand was tripped and didn’t get the call from the officials, leading to Marchand getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Bruins killed the penalty swiftly, and Marchand had a bee under his bonnet after exiting the box. Nevertheless, Marchand infused life into the Bruins, turning his rage over the non-call into energy for the top line, and boy, did they deliver. Marchand, at 6:26 of the second period, made a beautiful pass to find a wide-open Pastrnak in the slot as he ripped home a snapshot for his team-leading 26th goal of the season, knotting the game at one goal a piece.
A little over two minutes later, a holding penalty against the Kings sent the Bruins to their first powerplay of the night, and they did not waste any time on the man advantage. Patrice Bergeron won the draw to Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, whose original pass got broken up but fell right onto the tape of Marchand, who sniped it from a sharp angle, beating Kings goalie Pheonix Copley giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.
The Kings would not go down without a fight, though, as an excellent zone entry from the Kings eventually led to a blistering one-timer from the left circle by Kings defenseman Sean Durzi who beat Swayman glove side, tying the game up at two, which would leave the score tied heading into the third period.
The Bruins were looking for more third-period magic in this one, and with the score deadlocked at two, they got it from none other than third-line winger Frederic. Midway through the third period, Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo made a brilliant play absorbing the hit from the Kings forecheckers sending Nick Foligno, Charlie Coyle, and Frederic on a partial three-on-two breakout. Frederic made a pass to defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who attempted to set up Frederic, but the pass was blocked and found its way on Carlo’s stick as he unleashed a slapshot that was tipped home by Frederic for his 8th goal of the season, giving the Bruins the lead 3-2.
Frederic, however, wasn’t done there as he added an insurance goal just 34 seconds later on a slick feed by Foligno below the goal line to a wide-open Frederic, who roofed one giving him his career beat 9th goal of the season and, more importantly, a two-goal lead for Boston. Frederic had two goals in the game and finally got a chance to drop the mitts with Brendan Lemieux in a heavyweight fight during the second period.
Pastrnak would add an empty netter off a Kevin Fiala turnover which was the dagger in the 5-2 victory. Swayman made 27 saves and was a part of history. This was the first game in NHL history featuring two Alaska-born goaltenders. Copley was born in North Pole and Swayman in Anchorage. The Bruins are now the first team in the NHL to reach the thirty-win mark this season (30-4-4) and will continue their west coast road trip against the Sharks on Saturday. The puck drop is at 10:30 EST.
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