In Boston Saturday night, Tyler Toffoli scored with 0.4 seconds left in extra time to send the Los Angeles Kings past the Bruins by a 2-1 score.
“It was one of those things where [defenseman Drew Doughty] and I were right there, so wherever the puck went we were both going to step into it,” Toffoli said. “It went right in my wheelhouse and I got all of it.”
After an icing by the Bruins, the officials put 0.9 seconds on the clock and that seems to be enough for the Kings these days.
“We felt with 0.9, if he won the draw clean, you have an opportunity,” LA head coach John Stevens said. “So we put two righties in behind [Kopitar]. So wherever the puck’s sprayed, Drew or [Toffoli] would have a chance to get a shot off. It couldn’t have landed better in between Tyler’s feet there with Tanner [Pearson] inside just looking to box out and go to the net. So it was a perfect execution by the guys on the ice.”
Jonathan Quick made 29 saves for the Kings who improved to 9-1-1 and are not nearly as slow as some pundits had thought (ahem).
Toffoli also scored in regulation when he tied the game 1-1 midway through the first period.
“You can say it’s luck, you can say it’s good bounces, but at the same time we’re working hard and we’re working for those bounces and to see it pay off the way it did tonight, we’ll take it,” Anze Kopitar said of Toffoli’s game-winner and the play ahead of it.
Brad Marchand had scored earlier in the opening frame to give Boston the 1-0 lead.
[WATCH: All Kings vs. Bruins highlights]
Tuukka Rask made 28 saves in taking the loss.
“All we’re asking him to do is basically affect the puck there … not even win it, obviously we don’t need to win it. We just need some sort of stick on it so it bounces towards the boards. I think that’s what David (David Pastrnak) was thinking, if he could push it towards the boards it has no chance of going backwards. Didn’t happen,” Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said of the final face-off that led to the goal.
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