LOS ANGELES - "We got the win," said Marc Savard. "That's all that matters."
Savard was sure about that, having scored the winning goal and notching four assists in Boston's upside-down 8-6 win over Los Angeles last night at Staples Center.
The Bruins were a little foggy about everything else.
For the first three games of 2007-08, Boston's biggest problem was a lack of production, having scored only five goals all season.
But last night, the Bruins scored more goals than they had all season. Phil Kessel recorded the first hat trick of his career. Savard put up a 5-point effort after missing one game with a groin strain. Milan Lucic notched a Gordie Howe hat trick, scoring his first goal, his first assist, and his first big-time fight against Raitis Ivanans, an established heavyweight.
"I think the fight," Lucic said when asked which feat he was most proud of, although he planned to give his commemorative puck to his parents, who were in attendance. "I held my ground in the fight."
It was a night of crazy events that left even coach Claude Julien dumbfounded when trying to explain what had happened. The Bruins held a 4-1 advantage at one point that turned into a 5-5 tie in the third period. They committed multiple defensive-zone gaffes, a peculiar happening given Boston's tightness in the first three games.
And Manny Fernandez, making his second start, saw six pucks go past him, with rebound control being his biggest issue.
"Not really," said Fernandez when asked if he'd ever gone through such a stretch. "This is quite unbelievable."
The Bruins held a 4-1 lead in the second period (two goals by Kessel, singles by Glen Murray and Aaron Ward), but the Kings wiped out the advantage, tying the game at 5 in the third.
But the Bruins scored the winning power-play goal at 9:42 of the third. After the Kings failed to clear the zone, the puck landed on the stick of Murray in the slot. Murray faked a slapper, throwing off Jonathan Bernier's timing, and instead fired a pass to Savard, who one-timed it for his first goal of the season to give the Bruins a 6-5 advantage.
Earlier in the third, the Kings tied the game at 8:19. Forward Anze Kopitar fired a shot off the crossbar that dropped into the crease. Fernandez scrambled to cover the puck, but knocked it over the line instead.
In the second, Murray, who had been held without a point in the first three games, scored his first goal to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead. During Boston's third power play, ex-Bruin Brad Stuart blocked a point shot by Savard. But Murray, stationed in the slot, found the loose puck and fired it over Bernier's right shoulder at 4:05.
