FINAL: Kings 5, Bruins 4 (OT) - Bruins lose on breakaway goal right after their own PP expires

What an absolute gut wrenching loss for the Bruins today as they fell 5-4 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings had not led the entire game until the game winner. The biggest problem on the goal in overtime by Brandt Clarke was that the Bruins cleared the puck right as the Boston power play ended, which lined up perfectly with Clarke coming out of the penalty box for a breakaway. It is also worth noting that was Clarke's first career NHL goal. 

The other big takeaway is that the Bruins continue to struggle to close out games. Boston was up 4-3 late in the third period but gave up a tying goal to Andre Kopitar because no one was in front of the net to defend the tip in. 

You still need to give credit to the Bruins for fighting back anytime the Kings scored. First, James Van Riemsdyk scored the opening goal for Boston in the first to make it 1-0. After a David Pastrnak goal was overturned for goaltender interference, Los Angeles came back and tied it at one on a Matt Roy goal. However, Van Riemsdyk scored his second goal of the game right after to give Boston a 2-1 advantage. Anthony Richard got in on the action in the second period when he scored his first goal as a Bruin to make it 3-1. 

It then went back and forth from there when Vladislav Gavrikov cut Boston's lead to 3-2. Alex Laferriere, who played college hockey at Harvard, scored the game tying goal in the third to knot it up at three. Trent Frederic gave the Bruins a big goal at the 7:12 mark in the third to give Boston a 4-3 lead. 

The Bruins failed to close out the game though as Kopitar tied the game late with the Los Angeles net empty. 

The Bruins will close out this seven-game home stand on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. when they welcome  the Dallas Stars to TD Garden.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Bruins fail yet again to close out a close game. Also, not smart to clear the puck in OT when Clarke was coming out of the penalty box on the other side of the ice, leading to the breakaway.
• Give credit to Boston for fighting back whenever the Kings scored to tie the game up.
• Van Riemsdyk had a great game scoring both Boston goals in the first period. 
• Bruins look like a much better team when Frederic contributes. 
• Bruins still get a point but are now 1-3-2 on this home stand. 

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 WHO: Kings (25-16-10) at Bruins (32-12-10)
WHEN: 12:30 p.m. 
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston. 
TV: ABC
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub
LIVE BOX SCORE
ROSTERS

KINGS
Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe
Moore - Danault - Arvidsson
Laferriere - Dubois - Byfield
Anderson-Dolan - Turcotte - Lewis

Anderson - Doughty
Gavrikov - Roy
Englund - Clarke

Rittich
Talbot

PREGAME NOTES
The Bruins welcome the Los Angeles Kings for a matinee matchup at TD Garden at 12:30 p.m. Boston won in their last meeting with the Kings out in Los Angeles by a score of 4-3 back on October 21st. 

The Kings look a little different since then as they fired head coach Todd McLellan and are currently 2-1-0 under interim coach Jim Hiller. Los Angeles currently sits in fourth place in the Pacific Division with 60 points, behind Edmonton (63), Las Vegas (68) and Vancouver (80). The Bruins are going to have a hard time again today with their power play as Los Angeles enters ranked first in the NHL on the penalty kill at 87%. The Kings also rank 15th in the league on the man advantage at 21.2%. Keep an eye on Quinton Byfield, who returned on the scoresheet on Thursday night at the New Jersey Devils, netting a game-winning goal. That came after he was held scoreless on Tuesday night in Buffalo, which ended a five-game point streak where he earned eight points. Trevor Moore paces Los Angeles in goals (21) while Adrian Kempre leads the squad in points at 45.