Kings Suffer Boston Bruising

This was no crowning moment for the homecoming King.

More like a crowning blow.

Jason Allison, undoubtedly plotting a more triumphant return to the FleetCenter on Thursday night, watched his plans go horribly awry.

The all-star center, acquired by the Kings in an Oct. 24 trade after a bitter contract holdout with the Boston Bruins, would have loved to show the Bruins that they made a mistake in not meeting his contract demands and sending him away.

Instead, his every move was booed by the fans who used to adore him and the Bruins breezed to a 5-0 victory, ending the Kings’ four-game winning streak while sending them to their most lopsided loss of the season.

What’s worse, the players that came to the Bruins in the trade combined for four points, Glen Murray contributing a goal and an assist and Jozef Stumpel two assists as the streaking Bruins won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Allison, meanwhile, was a non-factor, failing to score for the fifth time in six games in front of a crowd of 14,528 that included the families of former King scouts Garnet “Ace” Bailey and Mark Bavis, killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Afterward, surrounded by reporters in the locker room, Allison expressed his disappointment in a barely audible monotone.

“I’m not very happy about this,” he said after a lackluster effort that included not one shot on goal in more than 19 minutes of ice time.

“It’s disappointing to lose 5-0 any time, but especially when you’re facing the team you used to play for....We weren’t even in the game.

“Obviously, it’s more bitter to face something like that.”

For Murray and Stumpel, of course, it was a lot more enjoyable.

“Most definitely,” said Murray, whose two points ran his total to 29 in 34 games since the trade, one fewer than Allison has scored in 35 games with the Kings. “You always want to beat your old team. To beat them 5-0 is huge.”

Said Stumpel: “You always try to give it to your old team.”

The Bruins, whose recent run has moved them to the top of the Eastern Conference standings and improved their record since the trade to 21-9-1-4, gave it to the Kings from the start, exploiting the visitors’ fatigue.

The Kings, 15-13-6-1 since acquiring Allison, were playing their second game in two nights and their fourth in six, and it showed.

“We looked liked a tired team tonight,” Coach Andy Murray said, “and when you’re a tired team you have to play a little smarter than what we played tonight. When you don’t, this can sometimes be the result.”

For King captain Mattias Norstrom, it left a bad taste.

“We got outworked in every department,” the defenseman said. “I don’t know what to call it--maybe a little sobering experience for us after feeling really good about ourselves the way we played the last four games....

“It was a little wake-up call.”

It came early, Martin Lapointe beating goaltender Felix Potvin to give the Bruins the only goal they would need only 4 minutes 45 seconds into the game. Bill Guerin made the score 2-0 at 9:39 of the period, scoring his 24th goal of the season on an assist from Stumpel, the 300th of his NHL career.

Murray picked up his 20th assist, on a goal by Sergei Samsonov, at 4:20 of the second period, then scored his 20th goal, off a pass from Stumpel, to increase the Bruins’ advantage to 4-0 with 5:34 to play in the period. Joe Thornton scored his 19th goal in the third period.

Meanwhile, goaltenders Byron Dafoe and John Grahame combined to stop 16 shots, Grahame turning aside 12 over the last two periods after Dafoe left the game during the first intermission because of flu-like symptoms.