3 takeaways from the LA Kings overtime loss to the Boston Bruins
For the seventh straight time, the Los Angeles Kings go to overtime when playing the Bruins in Boston. Unfortunately, the Bruins would walk away with two points after David Pastrnak beat Kuemper to give Boston a 2-1 victory over the Kings.
There was not much scoring in this game as the two teams would remain scoreless through the first period before Trevor Moore would score his first goal of the season off an assist by Phillip Danault. The Bruins would be able to answer back later in the second period with Elians Lindholm scoring his second goal of the season.
It was a pretty even game from that point forward as both goalies played well and would force the game to overtime.
Los Angeles Kings looked better but only came away with one point
When looking at the performance on Saturday against the Boston Bruins compared to what the Kings showed on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres, this team overall looked better. There were certainly mistakes at time and some missed opportunities, but the level of competition was much stronger in the Bruins.
If the Los Angeles Kings play like this night in and night out, they are going to win a lot more than they lose this season.
Darcy Kuemper once again was excellent in net for the LA Kings
The one performance that carried over from the first game to the second was goaltender Darcy Kuemper. He would finish the game with 23 saves on 25 shots, including four power play saves.
On the season now, Kuemper has saved 55 shots out of 58 for a save percentage of .948%. In this game, the Kings did a better job of limiting the shots but when they were getting through Kuemper continues to excel.
The question now is whether the Kings will have Kuemper in net or if they switch it up with David Rittich. It is worth noting that Kuemper did only play in 33 games last season so managing his workload should be on the mind of the coaching staff.
Los Angeles Kings remain aggressive on the penalty kill
Both teams had five power plays each in this game and neither were able to capitalize. However, one thing that was notable for the Kings is that they were very aggressive in pushing the puck and trying to convert some short-handed goals in this game. This is now the second game this season they have shown this and it seems to be a point for them to make this season.
On Saturday, the Kings would have four short-handed shot attempts and created some good opportunities. There is certainly some risk-reward that needs to be considered but if the Kings are able to create their own chances, it is limiting what the other team can do when they have the man advantage and that is certainly a good thing.
The Los Angeles Kings will be off on Sunday before another early puck drop on Monday against the Senators in Ottawa with a 10:00 AM start time.
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