The Bruins scored 19 seconds into the game but their offense sputtered the rest of the way as they fell to 0-3 on the road trip.
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LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Swayman was fighting mad Sunday night. The Bruins goalie also was fighting the puck.
The Kings beat up on the punchless Bruins, sending Boston to its sixth straight loss, 7-2, at Crypto.com Arena.
Swayman attempted to get his teammates going by challenging fellow goalie Darcy Kuemper after a second-period crease crash, but it never materialized, much like Boston’s offense the last half dozen games.
Kuemper ripped Marat Khusnutdinov’s helmet off after the collision and Swayman took exception.
Swayman charged out of his crease and shed his mask, glove, and blocker. Kuemper was ready to oblige, and it looked like a goalie fight was on before officials thought better of it and quashed it — much to the chagrin of the goalies, and the crowd.
“He touched one of my guys and I think that was something that I’m not going to accept and kudos to [Kuemper]. He stepped up. Just, it got broken up,” said Swayman. “I think it just comes down to sticking up for my teammates. I don’t care who it is, it’s a guy in the Black and Gold. You’re not going to touch him without getting contested. And I care about every one of these guys like a brother, and that’s just the way I felt and felt like it was my turn to step up.”
Nikita Zadorov, who has dropped the gloves on multiple occasions this season in defense of his teammates, had an interesting take when asked if he appreciated Swayman doing the same.
“Is that what that was? I don’t know,” said the defenseman. “No comment.”
The gesture failed to spark the Bruins, who trailed, 3-2, at the time of the kerfuffle midway through the second before giving up four straight goals.
“I mean everything goes in. It’s embarrassing, obviously, how many times we get beat by teams that score goals on us this year, so it’s definitely unacceptable,” said Zadorov.
Mikey Anderson landed a big shot from the point that Swayman stopped. The rebound bounced to Drew Doughty, who came in uncovered and lofted an off-speed shot — a knuckler perhaps? — to make it 3-2.
That’s when tempers flared, and the Bruins offense was left punchless. Andrei Kuzmenko made it 4-2 at the end of the second, and Quinton Byfield, Tanner Jeannot, and Samuel Helenius scored in the third while the Bruins mustered just one shot on net — a Parker Wotherspoon effort 3:28 in.
“I want to give this team a chance to win every night, and I haven’t done that in the last two games, so that’s something that I’m going to work on,” said Swayman, asked if he is, indeed, fighting the puck. “I’m not giving up. I’m keeping my chin up.
“I’m not getting the results right now, but I owe these guys better. I owe a hell of a lot of people a lot better and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”