BOSTON – Ahead of the game, Bruins’ head coach Marco Sturm said “I’m not worried about the offense. I think the defensive part is always for me first, and that’s where some other lines need to get better.”
Well, the Bruins allowed 15 shots on goal, the lowest total they have allowed all season. And their two goals were scored by defensemen.
The Boston Bruins (36-22-6) made it 13-straight at home with a 2-1 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings (26-23-15) on Tuesday night.
They have not lost at home since December 23, 2025. Road games have been a different story recently, and overtime did not go their way on Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
“It’s huge,” Mason Lohrei said of the team’s ability to bounce back. “Every day we show up to work, and we’re ready to go. We’re a confident group, for sure. Even since the beginning, you know, a lot of people were doubting us. We show up, and we go to work, and let the results speak for themselves.”
Lohrei broke the ice, scoring the game’s first goal at the 8:22 mark of the third period.
However, the story from Tuesday night was Bruins alternate captain Charlie McAvoy.
McAvoy left the game in the second period. He returned for the third period, skating in 10 shifts before taking one more in overtime. Overall, he played for 22:26, the second-most out of any Bruins player on Tuesday – despite missing time late in the second period.
His overtime shift made the difference. In stride, David Pastrnak played the puck to McAvoy, who used his backhand to beat Darcy Kuemper.
When the game-winning goal scorer entered the locker room to meet with the media, he requested only two questions. He said he needed to go get more dental work done.
“You know, I wish the hits would stop coming, honestly,” he said. “It’s tiring. My mouth, honestly, can’t feel worse. But I’ll get some work. We got a really good dentist here who’s great.”
“I’m just really happy we got two points tonight.”
He was not the only one surprised. Marco Sturm did not think he was coming back, but he knows the impact that it has on the players in the room.
“The guy next to him, he’s going to look over, ‘Okay, is he going to battle through it or not?’ If you sit across from him, and you’re a young guy, to see that, you know,” Sturm said. “I don’t want to be the guy who is going to quit. Those are the guys you need in a locker room.”
His teammates know the impact as well.
“Obviously, yeah,” Lohrei said when asked if McAvoy’s return helped lift the team. “You never want to see him go down. He’s had some tough bounces in the past little bit here, so obviously huge when we saw him come out and get back with us. And then, that’s the kind of player he is, you know, game-winning play.”
“He’s tough as nails, man,” Jeremy Swayman said about McAvoy. “You always know he’s going to respond to whatever comes his way. That’s a special individual on our team, and I’m so happy that he’s getting the success he deserves right now.”
Swayman made 14 saves on Tuesday. He also hit win No. 25 of the 2025-26 season, which ties a career-high set in 2023-24.
“It’s an honor, it’s hard to win in this league,” he said. “It takes a team, so a lot of credit goes to the boys in front of me. I love this thing, so let’s keep it rolling.”
He finished with 1.35 goals saved above expected.
The Bruins have now won 13 straight on home ice. They will look to add to that streak when Macklin Celebrini, Lexington-native Will Smith, and the San Jose Sharks (30-26-6) come to town.
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