• For the Hockeywood Dailies from this game, click here.

Game 49: Kings 2, Bruins 0

Pleased to meet you, won't you guess my name? Woo woo.

The Kings reverted back to their dominant form Monday night when they shut out the Bruins to sweep Boston in the season series. Hey Boston, you suck! (Except for you, Zaz.)

L.A. got things started in the first period when Ryan Smyth notched his 18th goal of the season when he connected on a power play. The power play has been anything but for the Kings. They were mired in an 0-for-22 slurp with the man advantage.

Andrei Loktionov (which is a fun name to type) scored his second of the season in 10 games with the club. He's been down on the Monarchs since November. He was recalled when the Marco Sturm experiment was sidelined with an injury. He has 8 goals and 23 assists for Manchester this season.

Jonathan Quick celebrated his fourth Shutout Day of the season, turning away all 34 shots he faced from the Bruins. Even though he stood on his head and made tremendous saves, Bruins coach Claude Julien wasn't that impressed. From the Boston Herald:

“I think he played well,’’ Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Quick. “At the same time, I don’t think we generated as much offense as we normally do."

Yeah, so I guess 34 shots don't count? The Kings defense shut down the Bruins, and didn't give them quality shots. Willie Mitchell led the Kings with five blocked shots and was second to Drew Doughty in time on the ice. Having Mitchell patrolling the blueline has been nice since his return.

The Captain Dustin Brown was laying Bruins out left and right, especially Steven Kampfer a few times. He was once again joined on the top line with Loktionov and Anze Kopitar. Kopitar has been going through quite a goal-scoring funk, only scoring twice in the last 16 games. Sure, he has 14 assists during that time frame, but he needs to put the pcuk in the net with more regularity if the Kings hope to make a stronger run at the playoffs.

The statistics favor the Kings: right now their goal differential is +18, which is fourth best in the West. They might be on the outside looking in right now (as of Tuesday morning, they are three points out of the playoffs), but if they continue to play they have these last three games, they're be in like Flynn.

• AP: Kings beat Bruins 2-0 for 2nd straight win

Quick made 34 saves to earn his 21st victory of the season and 13th career shutout, putting him fourth on the club's all-time list.

• L.A. Times: Kings step up their game in 2-0 victory over Bruins

The Kings not only played up to the level of their opposition Monday in a 2-0 victory over the Boston Bruins, they played up to the standard they set in winning 12 of their first 15 games this season, and that's saying a lot.

• LAKings.com: Kings step up their game in 2-0 victory over Bruins

Jonathan Quick was nearly flawless in a 34-save shutout, his fifth of the season and the 13th of his career, but Quick didn't need to be brilliant because the Kings' defense played a smart, simple game in front of him and limited the Bruins' scoring chances.

• NHL.com: Kings blank Bruins in L.A.

Los Angeles has won two straight after going 3-13 in its previous 16 games, a plunge that dropped it from being one of the top teams in the West to a club fighting for a playoff berth. 

• Boston Globe: Bruins end road trip with shutout loss

“I think he played well,’’ Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Quick. “At the same time, I don’t think we generated as much offense as we normally do. Give the other team credit for that. I think they did a pretty good job of minimizing that. At the same time, I don’t think we got many screens in front of him. He saw a lot of those pucks. He’s a pretty good goaltender, so he’s going to stop those. We didn’t do a very good job of getting enough traffic in front.’’

They said it

“Just doing the little things right, capitalizing on the special teams. You know, Quickie [Jonathan Quick] played outstanding, gave us a chance, made some spectacular saves tonight, which, you know, sometimes you get pinned back and you get hemmed in your own zone. He rectified that and settled things down for us.” – Ryan Smyth, on playing a strong overall game.

“When you have success, you’re going to be more confident. That game in Phoenix, as sloppy as it was at times, I think just getting that win puts a lot of guys at ease, allows guys to relax a little bit and gives us faith in the system, that it will work if we do it the right way. I think tonight was a clear example of that. If we’re playing our game, we’re a good team, and I think that’s just confidence from that Phoenix game carrying over.” – Matt Greene, on playing with more confidence.

“I focus more on what I’m going to see, not what the forwards are going to have to deal with. He’s a great goalie. He played well for them. I think we could have built a bigger lead if it wasn’t for a few of the saves he made. Like I said, it’s just good to get the two points and move forward now.” – Jonathan Quick, on going head-to-head with Tim Thomas.

“The first one, Ryan Smyth did a great job screening. The second one, they threw the puck from the side of the net. I tried to put the rebound where I thought it should go. It just landed on their stick because they had a guy at the back door. The other stuff, where I could see pucks and see the play developing, I was able to stop those.’’ – Tim Thomas, on giving up two goals.

“Loktionov is a very intelligent player. That’s why he is there, to play with Kopitar and hopefully generate some offense, make some plays. He has a great deal of composure with the puck. Then we see the chemistry happening with that second goal tonight. Kopitar makes a strong play, carrying the puck. I think it was from high in our D zone, right through the ice, and Loktionov is off the back door.” – Terry Murray, on Loktionov’s play.