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The Los Angeles and Boston broadcasts of the game both dismissed the idea of this ending.
With 0.9 seconds remaining in overtime, there’s no way the Los Angeles Kings can win the face off and score in that timeframe, right?
Wrong.
Anze Kopitar won the draw right to Tyler Toffoli’s stick and he blasted it past Boston Bruins’ goalie Tuukka Rask before the green light goes on to signal the end of the period.
The result had pandemonium on the ice and in the press box. Kings play-by-play man, Alex Faust, asked on air “Have you ever?… to which color man, Jim Fox, replied “No, I have not….
The Kings fantastic 2-1 victory over the Bruins caps off a great eastern swing going 4-1-0 before heading to St. Louis to end their six game road trip.
“It was one of those things where Dewey (Drew Doughty) and I were right there so wherever the puck went we were both going to step into it,… said Toffoli after the game. “It went right into my wheelhouse and I got all of it.…
The goal left Rask shaking his head after the game still wondering what had just happened.
“I didn’t see that one coming,… said the Bruins’ goaltender jokingly. “I was thinking of standing in the middle of the net in case that happened. I guess I would have been better off doing that but there’s always something new in this game.…
Rask shouldn’t hang his head as throughout this game he went toe-to-toe with Kings goalie Jonathan Quick like heavyweight boxers. Neither one of them willing to give an inch.
The scoring started early in the first period as the Bruins cycled well in the Kings zone where Brad Marchand tipped a give-and-go pass from Charlie McAvoy to give the Bruins an early 1-0 lead.
Just three and a half minutes later, Toffoli picked off a McAvoy pass in the slot and deked around Rask to tie the game at ones.
The rest of the game was the Quick and Rask show, matching each other save for save on each prime scoring chance. However, due to Toffoli’s heroics in overtime, Quick got the win with 29 saves while Rask stopped 28.
“He made that breakaway save in overtime that saved the game for us,… said Toffoli about his goaltender. “We went down and scored almost a minute right after that. Quickie’s been outstanding this whole trip so it’s not that surprising seeing what he did tonight.…
The win the way it happened was important, especially when it comes to watching the standings late in the season. Not all wins are created equally as the first tie-break in the NHL standings are non-shootout victories. This means had the Kings won the game in a shootout, this win would not have counted towards that tally.
Despite all the excitement around the way the game ended, Kings coach John Stevens tried to put things in perspective.
“I don’t want to get carried away, it’s a huge win right?,… explained Stevens. “We didn’t win a playoff series or anything but it’s a big win.…
“We told them sometimes it might take until the last minute of a hockey game. We didn’t think it would literally be the last second, but I think it’s a good learning experience of how hard the league is.…
Prior to the game, the Kings lost Oscar Fantenberg from the lineup due to back spasms. It is not something that is expected to be long-term and would consider him to be day-to-day from this point.
Next up for the Kings they head back into the western conference to play the Blues in St. Louis. The Blues overtook the Columbus Blue Jackets in a sound 4-1 win on Saturday night and have won five of their last six games.
After St. Louis the Kings finally return home on Thursday night where they have a rematch with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the only team to beat them in regulation so far this season.