March 8, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) handles the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins right winger Egor Chinakov (59) during overtime at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Home has been where the Boston Bruins should be this season.
After missing a crucial point in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, the Bruins will have two chances to extend their home winning streak to 12 games this week, starting with a visit from the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
It’s not ideal to take a 3-0 lead midway through a game in a tight playoff race, but coach Marco Sturm is hoping his Bruins, who are 24-8-1 at home this season and occupies the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot against the Columbus Blue Jackets, can take a positive result from Sunday.
“It’s unfortunate to take a two-goal lead going into the third and play really solid defense and then give it up in the third,” Sturm said. “Of course… I don’t really like that.”
Despite the Bruins suffering their fourth loss while leading after two periods (28-0-4), Pavel Zacha notched his second hat trick of the season and his fifth straight game of scoring.
David Pastrnak also broke an eight-game scoring drought. Pastrnak (23 goals, 75 points) is Boston’s leading scorer, but has been scoreless since January 27.
“That’s where it is now,” Pastrnak said of his Sunday goal. “I tried to take a shot but it didn’t come out clearly… I hope I can bury some chances and get a shot and score.”
Los Angeles, which is 3-6-1 in its last 10 games, opened a five-game weeklong road trip with a 5-4 overtime win in Columbus on Monday afternoon before taking a tight turnaround in Boston. The game, originally scheduled to be held on January 26, was postponed due to a snowstorm.
Unlike Boston’s poor performance on the road, the Kings have been strong at home. The 16 road wins are the most in the Pacific Division.
“You’ve got to control what you can control: your play, your effort, your physicality,” interim coach DJ Smith said of the team’s mentality heading into the trip. “We have to beat good teams to get to where we want to go.”
But achieving recent victories hasn’t been easy. That’s because Los Angeles erased leads of 2-0 and 4-3 before Adrian Kempe won with his second goal of the game and his 25th team lead of the season 2:34 into overtime. This moves the Kings into one of the Seattle Kraken’s berths for the final wild card spot in the West.
“Obviously there are ups and downs during the season, but I felt good tonight,” said former Boston College defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who had a goal and two assists against Columbus. “I thought it was the result of everyone’s efforts. Everyone contributed.”
Kempe has had recent success on the top line alongside captains Anze Kopitar and Artemi Panarin, who were acquired from the New York Rangers in February. He has scored in five straight games for Boston.
The Bruins look to close out the season head-to-head after a 2-1 overtime win at Los Angeles on Nov. 21. Morgan Geekey scored both goals for the Bruins, who went 5-for-5 on penalty kicks.
–Field level media
