The LA Kings battled back to force overtime and earn a point, but ultimately they came up just short in a 2-1 overtime defeat against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday evening at TD Garden.
The first period came and went without a goal from either side, as the Kings held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal during the opening 20 minutes. Boston had perhaps the best chance of the opening frame, however, as the Bruins hit the post midway through the first, but neither side found the back of the net.
It was the same story in the second period as well, though Boston flipped the script to lead 12-8 in shots on net after 40 minutes. The Kings had two great chances in the second, with forward Trevor Moore hitting the post, while forwards Alex Laferriere Scott Laughton each had partial shorthanded breakaways turned aside.
Just shy of halfway into the third period, the Bruins finally opened the scoring, as defenseman Mason Lohrei fired the hosts ahead. Boston worked the puck from low to high and Lohrei took a feed from defenseman Hampus Lindholm at the right point, before he walked into the high slot and ripped a shot top shelf, past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, for his seventh goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
With exactly six minutes on the clock in the third period, the Kings found a way to tie the game and force things into overtime. Forward Trevor Moore curled back on the attack, along the right-wing boards, and fed the puck to defenseman Drew Doughty at the right point. Doughty hit the shot first time, past Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman and in, tying the game at one with his fourth tally of the season.
Inside the first minute of overtime, after the Kings had the first two shot attempts, Boston went the other way in transition and sealed a 2-1 victory. Forward Mark Kastelic sent a stretch pass down the right wing to forward David Pastrnak, who quickly fed defenseman Charlie McAvoy on a breakaway. McAvoy deked to the backhand and slotted home the game-winning goal to secure the second point.
Hear from Moore, Doughty and Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith after tonight’s game.
Trevor Moore
Drew Doughty
On if the intensity tonight felt like a playoff game
Yeah, obviously not a high scoring game, tight-checking. Both teams were competing really hard. Would have liked to come out with two points but I think we can take a lot of good things from that game.
On the Kings bringing desperation tonight, on the second half of a back-to-back
Basically, almost everyone is playing physical, doing the right things, not cheating, blocking shots and doing whatever it takes for us to get into the playoffs.
On a 4-for-4 showing from the penalty kill tonight
We need our kill not to just keep us in games, but to win us games. I thought it did its job and put us in a position to do that tonight.
On if there is positive momentum to be pulled from tonight’s game, despite the OTL
I think so. We showed resilience and we showed heart. Tonight, we played hard. Almost every single guy played hard and we got a point against a really good team. Yeah, we can take some positives, but clearly we’ve got to look at some of the negatives and fix those things.
D.J. Smith
On the competitiveness tonight and what he felt at ice level
Absolutely, I think every time you come to Boston, it feels like this. Certainly the team that they have, that plays as hard as they do and bangs bodies, they can push you out of a game and they didn’t do that/ I thought it was a really even game all the way around.
On if he was happy with the physicality his team brought to match Boston’s
Yeah, for sure and to a man, I thought. Three games in four nights, coming from California with the time change to be right there, lose in overtime, we wanted the two points clearly, but essentially, it’s a tie. The way we came back and hung with it, I think it’s a lot of character from the guys.
On an improved showing from the penalty kill tonight
I think Scott Laughton really helps that up front, allows other guys to play more minutes maybe 5-on-5. We made some adjustments over the break, maybe a little less pressure, but pressure at different times, but it looks like it’s picking up confidence.
On what he’s felt Laughton has brough to the Kings in such a short time
He’s a hockey player. He’s been around a long time. He understands how to play winning hockey and he can do the little things to help you. I think he’s fit in really nice.
On keeping things going heading to New York
I mean, we’re just scratching and clawing to get every point we can, win, loss whatever. We wanted two, we got one, we got three out of four on the road. We’ve got to keep it going. We’ve got two big games. Back-to-back in New York and we’ve got to find a way to win them.
Notes –
– Defenseman Drew Doughty (1-0=1) scored his fourth goal of the season to tie the contest at a goal apiece, sending the Kings to overtime at TD Garden for their eighth consecutive visit to Boston.
– His strike with exactly 6:00 remaining in regulation marked the 30th game-tying goal (GTG) of Doughty’s career, which tied Rob Blake (30 GTG) for the most such tallies by a defenseman in Kings franchise history.
– Forward Trevor Moore (0-1=1) picked up his 11th assist of the season tonight with a primary assist on Doughty’s game- tying goal. Moore also played his 415th game as a member of the Kings, breaking a tie with Bob Murdoch (414 GP) for sole possession of the 38th most regular-season appearances in Kings franchise history.
– Forward Adrian Kempe (0-1=1) notched his team-leading 31st assist of the 2025-26 campaign to extend his point streak to a sixth game (4-4=8), dating back to Feb. 28 against the Calgary Flames. This is Kempe’s seventh different streak of at least such length in his career and is the third such streak he has recorded this season, following his efforts from Oct. 18 through Oct. 30 (3-7=10 in 7 GP) and Jan. 17 through Feb. 4 (5-5=10 in 8 GP).
– Captain Anze Kopitar played his 31st and final regular-season contest against the Boston Bruins this evening. Kopitar’s 21 points (8-13=21) against the Bruins are the ninth most in Kings franchise history. Tonight’s contest also marked Kopitar’s 750th career road game, breaking a tie with Steve Yzerman (750 GP) for sole possession of the 24th most road games in NHL history.
The Kings have a scheduled day off tomorrow before they will return to the ice for practice on Thursday, March 12 in New York.