Bruins beat Kings 4-1 after Sturm’s changes help overcome another slow start

The Boston Bruins beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, October 17, after conceding in the opening minute. Four unanswered goals gave Boston its fifth straight win and completed a sweep of the California portion of its road trip.

Alex Laferriere put Los Angeles ahead after 31 seconds. The Kings outshot Boston 12-6 in the first period, continuing a pattern of slow starts that coach Marco Sturm said the Bruins need to address, especially away from home, according to Boston Hockey Now.

How Sturm’s third-period line change broke the tie

On the go-ahead play, Geekie directed a shot toward Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg and Poitras pushed the rebound to Khusnutdinov at the net. Khusnutdinov credited the work by his new linemates: ‘Good play by Geeks and Potsy,’ he said after the game, according to Boston Hockey Now. Elias Lindholm and Peterka later scored into an empty net, while Jeremy Swayman finished with 25 saves on 26 shots.

Sturm said the Kings were the better team in the first period, but Boston improved after adjusting to Los Angeles’s 1-3-1 neutral-zone system. ‘As long as we finish the right way, I’m okay, but we definitely need to work on our starts,’ he told reporters in Los Angeles, according to Boston Hockey Now.

Lineup changes before the Kings game

Boston also changed its lineup before the game. Pavel Zacha was day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Sturm made Nikita Zadorov a healthy scratch, citing his discipline on the ice. Sean Kuraly and Jonathan Aspirot entered the lineup; Minten moved to the top line and Poitras took the second-line center role, Boston Hockey Now reported.

The Bruins are scheduled to finish their four-game road trip in Dallas on Tuesday, October 20. The Los Angeles win left them 7-2-0, while the Kings fell to 0-4-2, according to Boston Hockey Now.