Bruins 4, Kings 2
BRUINS 4, KINGS 2: Milan Lucic snapped a tie early in the third period and Tim Thomas made 41 saves as Boston defeated Los Angeles to remain three points ahead of second-place Ottawa in the Northeast Division.
Brad Marchand notched a goal and an assist while Patrice Bergeron and Chris Kelly also scored for the Bruins, who ended their four-game road losing streak.
Bergeron began the scoring while shorthanded less than 5 1/2 minutes into the second period.
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty coughed up the puck in his own zone to Marchand, whose backhander on a short breakaway was denied by Jonathan Quick. Bergeron pounced on the rebound in the slot and fired it into a vacant net to reach the 20-goal plateau for the fourth time in his career.
Los Angeles got even eight minutes later when Doughty set up Colin Fraser for his first tally since Nov. 12, ending his 57-game drought.
But Lucic beat Quick from the right faceoff dot just over 4 1/2 minutes into the third, and Kelly made it 3-1 only 79 seconds later when Benoit Pouliot's pass from the left circle caromed off his left skate and in for his third goal in four contests.
Defenseman Slava Voynov got Los Angeles within one with a shot from the right point with 5:14 left, but Boston withstood a furious attack in the final minute and Marchand scored into an empty net with one second remaining to clinch the Bruins' third win in eight games.
Quick turned aside 22 shots for the Kings, who had won six straight both overall and at home. Los Angeles fell one point behind Dallas for first place in the Pacific Division.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bruins captain Zdeno Chara played in his 1,000th career game, becoming the 277th player and 91st defenseman to accomplish the feat. ... Lucic's goal was just his second in 11 games. ... Bergeron, who scored 22 times last season, ended his 13-game goalless drought. ... The Kings went 3-1-0 on their four-game homestand. ... Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar failed to notch a point for only the third time in 13 games while captain Dustin Brown was kept off the scoresheet for the third time in 14 contests.