Toffoli's buzzer-beater in overtime gets Kings past Bruins

BOSTON -- Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar and Los Angeles Kings coach John Stevens all agreed they'd never seen a game end the way their 2-1 overtime win against the Boston Bruins concluded at TD Garden on Saturday.
Toffoli scored his second goal of the game with 0.4 seconds remaining after a clean faceoff win by Kopitar against David Pastrnak. The Kings had a 4-on-3 man advantage because Stevens pulled goaltender Jonathan Quick, who made 29 saves, for an extra attacker.

WATCH: [All Kings vs. Bruins highlights]
"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."
The Bruins (4-3-2) had iced the puck with the clock reading 0.4 seconds left, but the officials adjusted the clock to 0.9 and the Kings called a timeout for Stevens to give his players a rest and a chance to draw up a play.
"We felt with 0.9, if he won the draw clean, you have an opportunity," 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."

The Kings matched their best start ever at 9-1-1. They began the 1980-81 season with nine wins in 11 games, including one tie.
Both teams had great chances to win in overtime. Quick made two saves on shots from in tight by Charlie McAvoy at 2:08 and 4:29. He also made a save on a partial breakaway by Anders Bjork at 3:41.
Tuukka Rask made 28 saves for the Bruins, including three in overtime. He preserved the tie with a save on Toffoli's shot on a 3-on-1 with 1:54 left. When the last shot got past him, Rask stayed in his crease while the officials reviewed whether it beat the clock.
"I saw zeroes on the board, so I thought hopefully, 'give me a break here and let's go to the shootout.' But not this time," Rask said.
The Kings scored on their first shot. Toffoli scored his first goal from the slot at 9:01 of the first period after a giveaway by Torey Krug to tie the score 1-1.
The Bruins scored first on Brad Marchand's seventh goal of the season at 5:27. After Bjork sent the puck to McAvoy during a cycle in the left circle, McAvoy hit Marchand with a pass at the top of the crease, where Marchand deflected the puck past Quick.

Goal of the game

Toffoli's game-winner with 0.4 seconds left in overtime.

Save of the game

Quick's blocker save on McAvoy with 31 seconds remaining in overtime.

Highlight of the game

Rask closed up his five-hole to stop Toffoli on a 3-on-1 at 3:06 of overtime.

They said it

"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." -- Kings captain Anze Kopitar
"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 was thinking, if he could push it towards the boards it has no chance of going backwards. Didn't happen." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy

Need to know

Toffoli's goal was the first by a Bruins opponent in the final second of a game since Daniel Briere scored for the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 13, 2014. … Kings defenseman Oscar Fatenberg was scratched because of back spasms. ... Rask played the 400th game of his NHL career.

What's next

Kings: At the St. Louis Blues on Monday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Bruins: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-O, NESN, NHL.TV)