Pastrnak, Poitras Lead Bruins In Overtime Victory Over LA Kings – Hockey Writers – Boston Bruins

It was clear that Poitras was perhaps the Bruins' best skater in the game, successfully getting the puck into the LA zone, something Boston as a team struggled to do effectively. He was good at slowing down the game in his own way, trying to find his teammates on the puck and making a clear impact every time he was on the ice. Bruins coach Jim Montgomery praised Poitras' first game, saying after the game, “I thought that was the best game he's played in the NHL.”

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Adding Poitras is huge for this Bruins team going forward, his staying healthy gives more depth to the forward core and don't be surprised if in the near future he gets the right ice time with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle.

Best Defensive Play So Far This Season

It doesn't take a hockey expert to know that allowing ten goals against two games is a poor path to any kind of long-term success, so there was a desire for a structurally sound defensive game for Boston and they showed it. . Although Swayman had to hold his own on a few occasions, including some good plays, the linebackers did an excellent job of chasing down the Kings players who have been a big issue in the past two games.

Just watching all three games, it's pretty clear to tell the Bruins have taken big steps in reducing chances at 5v5. The core defense looked cool, made smart decisions, and gave Swayman the best chance to win the game for them. When the defensive players made a mistake or missed their man, the forwards did a great job – highlighted by Elias Lindholm and Matthew Poitras – stepping back and picking up the slack. The numbers support the defensive improvement as well, as this game has been Boston's best of the season so far.

• Goals against 5v5 (1)
• Shots Against 5v5 (17)
• Shot attempts against 5v5 (38)
• Expected goals against 5v5 (1.23)
• Scoring Chances Against 5v5 (15)
• High Risk Hit Chances Against 5v5 (8)

In addition, the Bruins blocked 19 shots in this game – four more than the Canadiens and only two fewer than the Panthers, although the Panthers had an amazing 54 shot attempts compared to only 38 in the game against Los Angeles. Boston turned the puck over just nine times while they turned it over nearly 20 times in each of the other two games. One game – but a huge improvement.

Special Teams Were Good and Bad

Continuing their strong defense, Boston went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, which is a very good stat – however, too many penalties also forced them to play much shorter than they should have. As it stands, the Bruins have taken the most penalties so far with 19, four more than the Buffalo Sabres. On the other hand, the B's also committed a lot of penalties so they will have to play their game on the power play or penalty kill units.

More power play opportunities seemed like a good idea but at times in this win over LA, the Bruins could have been better off cutting the penalty and continuing to play 5v5. Boston went 0-for-5 in turnovers and gave up three scoring chances, while the Kings went 8-0 in scoring chances on the power play. In the early stages of the contest, Boston seemed to struggle to get into the zone and make the first pass which allowed Los Angeles' aggressive PK unit to attack the forwards and create the odd man rush otherwise. If it wasn't for some good backhand efforts from Elias Lindholm and a save from Swayman, there was a big chance for a shorthanded goal for the Kings.

So yes, passing well while short is great and continues to be a serious strength for this team, but the failure to convert in a 5-on-4 advantage will come back to haunt them as the season progresses. The Powerplay need to find their case – whether that's a personnel change or a system change – but right now it's not working. Boston was able to win without them today, but in a 2-1 overtime victory, one power play goal couldn't settle it in regulation.

A Strong Game of Depth

David Pastrnak scored the game-winning goal and Poitras had a game-best 60-plus minutes, but the rest of the Bruins also had strong efforts that led to Saturday's victory.

Lohrei fouled Pastrnak in overtime for a key assist while leading Bruins defensemen in field goal percentage (75.24%). After struggling a bit in the first game against Florida that led to his healthy streak against the Canadiens, Lohrei looked much better all around and more like the Lohrei we saw last season.

#NHL Boston Bruins GameScore Impact Card on 2024-10-12:#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/OMQL6XRXy5

– HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 12, 2024

John Beecher and Trent Frederic also had strong performances in the bottom six. Frederic went 8-3 while on the ice at 5v5, was second on the team with a 0.89 xGF and was second among Bruin forwards in shot attempts with five. Beecher had the second lowest expected goals against Boston (0.03), was credited with three hits in the game – tied for second on the team – and played three minutes on the penalty kill, second only to Charlie Coyle for the shortest minutes of all Bruins forwards. Andrew Peeke, Brad Marchand, and another strong game from Cole Koepke were also key factors in Boston's victory.

Now Bruins Seek Revenge and Keep the Trail Going

Now on a two-game winning streak, the Bruins will be ready for a third straight game at TD Garden and a second straight game against the Panthers, the team that held Boston's lone loss in 2024. -25 season. The Bruins will be looking to continue their strong offensive depth and improved defense while also playing better on the power play to extend their winning streak to three games and improve to 3-1-0.