Kings defeat Bruins 5-4 in overtime thanks to Clarke’s first career goal.

Kings defeat Bruins 5-4 in overtime thanks to Clarke’s first career goal.

With 27 seconds remaining in overtime, Brandt Clarke scored his first goal of the game on a breakaway, and the Los Angeles Kings came back to defeat the struggling Boston Bruins 5-4.

On Saturday, February 17, 2024, in Boston, during an NHL hockey game, Brandt Clarke of the Los Angeles Kings (92), surpasses Linus Ullmark (35), in overtime. (Photo by Michael Dwyer/AP)

Boston (AP) — With 27 seconds remaining in overtime, Brandt Clarke scored his first goal of the game, and the Los Angeles Kings came back to defeat the struggling Boston Bruins 5-4 on Saturday.

After taking down David Pastrnak, Clarke was left in the penalty area alone until he skated in on Linus Ullmark and slipped the puck past the Boston goalie.

My heart was racing in the penalty box for a while, and I don’t even really remember that part, but it was pretty wild when I touched it at the red line and everyone started jumping on me,” Clarke remarked. He was surrounded by teammates as they celebrated the Kings’ comeback as well as his first goal in 17 NHL games.

Before Clarke’s game-winning shot, the Kings were able to kill the hooking minor on David Rittich, who made four saves in overtime.

That’s just the way things occasionally go. You still need to finish it even after they emerge from the box and the puck appears at the appropriate moment. The most impressive thing about that, in my opinion, is that, stated Jim Hiller, the Kings’ acting coach. “You’re a young guy on a breakaway in Boston Garden and you’re coming down.” It must be completed, and he certainly achieved that.

With 1:35 left, Anze Kopitar tipped in a goal to knot the score at four and send the game into overtime. With goals from Matt Roy, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Alex Laferriere, the Kings have improved to 3-2 since Hiller replaced Todd McLellan.

For the Kings, Pierre-Luc Dubois had two assists.

You have to give credit to everyone, just up and down the lineup,” Hiller remarked.

For the Bruins, James van Riemsdyk notched two goals and added an assist, while Ullmark made 30 saves in all. Boston, which has dropped five straight games, also received goals from Trent Frederic and Anthony Richard.

When Pastrnak drew a penalty on Clarke with 2:36 remaining in overtime, Boston was in a strong position to end the run, but the Bruins were unable to take advantage of the 4-on-3 advantage that consumed a significant portion of the final few minutes of extra.

“They are a team in need. We’re going to see a lot of that now that they’re fighting for their postseason life, Boston coach Jim Montgomery stated. “Since the break, our desperation hasn’t consistently matched that of our opponents.”

Van Riemsdyk scored goals off of rebounds in the first quarter, and Richard added a goal at 13:04 in the second to put Boston ahead 3-1. Gavrikov’s wrist shot from the point bounced off Boston defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to bring the Kings within three points.

At 5:51 into the third, Harvard player Alex Laferriere scored a goal to level the score.

With 12:48 remaining in the third, Rittich stopped Morgan Geekie just in front of the crease, and Frederic swooped in for a rebound to put Boston up 4-3. Van Riemsdyk scored his third point of the match with an assist.

At 11:02 of the game, Matt Roy’s shot from the side of the net knotted the score as the puck slowly crossed the goal line despite Ullmark’s best efforts to stop it. A fight broke out between several players during the Kings’ celebration, and Trent Frederic and Andreas Englund—who had assisted Trevor Lewis on the goal—began trading blows.

Pastrnak also scored for Boston, but the goal was disallowed after the Kings challenged and officials reviewed video of the play and found Boston’s Jake DeBrusk was in the crease while fighting for position with Mikey Anderson. The review wiped out a great play by Pastrnak, who spun a full 360 degrees at the top of the right circle and came out the spin with a wrist shot that beat Rittich to the stick side.