With 2:36 remaining in overtime on Saturday afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings, the Boston Bruins went to the power play.
Despite having the man advantage, the Bruins lost 5–4 as Brandt Clarke scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway after Phillip Danault’s late clear caught him sprinting out of the penalty box.
Boston had a 3-1 lead in the second period, but a Los Angeles team that was fighting for position in the standings kept coming back and gave the Bruins their fifth defeat in six games.
We’re going to see a lot of it right now because they’re a desperate club playing for their postseason life. Jim Montgomery, the coach of the Boston Bruins, stated, “I don’t think we’ve consistently matched our opponents’ desperation.”
Anthony Richard scored his first goal as a Bruin, James van Riemsdyk finished with three points (two goals, one assist), and the bottom six finally had some momentum. However, Boston was unable to find a way to get two points for the fourth straight game.
“We must all delve deeply,” Montgomery remarked.
With a greasy, net-front goal at 8:03 of the first period, Van Riemsdyk gave his team a 1-0 lead. After working around the walls and passing the puck to Trent Frederic in front, the seasoned forward circled back to finish off the rebound at the right doorstep.
Just 27 seconds later, it appeared as though David Pastrnak had increased Boston’s lead with a wrister from the left circle, but Jake DeBrusk’s position in the crease caused the goal to be reversed for goaltender interference.
At 11:02, defenceman Matt Roy’s low, backhanded shot gave the Kings the equalizer (1–1).
During the power play, Van Riemsdyk scored his second goal of the match. Van Riemsdyk blocked Charlie McAvoy’s initial attempt from the top of the zone, but with his back to the goal, he beat Kings goalie David Rittich with a powerful blast. At 14:45, Van Riemsdyk’s 11th goal of the year gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead.