Home has been the place to be for the Boston Bruins this season.
After a crucial point slipped away with Sunday’s 5-4 overtime loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Bruins will have two opportunities to extend their 12-game home winning streak this week, beginning with a Tuesday night visit from the Los Angeles Kings.
Losing a 3-0 lead halfway through a game is not ideal amid this tight playoff race, but coach Marco Sturm hopes his Bruins — who are 24-8-1 at home this season and hold the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card position by two points over the Columbus Blue Jackets — can build on the positives from Sunday.
“It’s just unfortunate having a two-goal lead going into the third and playing really solid defense, and you just give it up in third,” Sturm said. “Of course … not happy about that.”
Despite only the Bruins’ fourth setback when leading after two periods (28-0-4), Pavel Zacha netted his second hat trick of the season and has points in five consecutive games.
David Pastrnak also broke an eight-game goal-scoring drought. Pastrnak (23 goals, 75 points) is Boston’s leading scorer but had gone since Jan. 27 without a goal.
“That’s just the way it goes for me now,” Pastrnak said of his Sunday goal coming off a forecheck. “I’ve had shots, but I’m not getting clear looks. … Hopefully, I’ll start burying some chances and can shoot to score.”
Los Angeles, which is 3-6-1 in its last 10 games, has a tight turnaround to Boston after beginning a weeklong, five-game trip with 5-4 overtime win in Columbus on Monday afternoon. The game originally was scheduled for Jan. 26 but got postponed due to a blizzard.
Contrary to Boston’s road struggles, the Kings have been a strong away from home. Their 16 road victories are the most in the Pacific Division.
“You’ve got to control what you can control, which is your play, your effort, your physicality,” interim coach D.J. Smith said of his team’s mindset entering the trip. “If you want to go where we want to go, you’ve got to beat a good team.”
Getting the latest win was not easy, though, as Los Angeles had 2-0 and 4-3 leads erased before Adrian Kempe won it 2:34 into the extra session with his second goal of the game and team-leading 25th of the season. The point moved the Kings within one of the Seattle Kraken, who hold the final wild-card spot in the West.
“Sometimes in the season, obviously, you have ups and downs, but it felt good tonight,” said former Boston College defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who had a goal and two assists against Columbus. “I thought it was a full effort from everyone. Everyone contributed.”
Kempe has found recent success on the top line with captain Anze Kopitar and Artemi Panarin, who was acquired from the New York Rangers in February. He carries a five-game point streak into Boston.
The Bruins will look to finish a head-to-head season sweep after earning a 2-1 overtime win in Los Angeles on Nov. 21. Morgan Geekie scored both goals for the Bruins, who went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
