Golden Knights squander third-period lead, fall to Bruins

By Justin Emerson

Published Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 | 3 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 | 6:45 p.m.

The Golden Knights had a lead in the third period against one of the best teams in the league and came up just a bit short. That's the way things have been going for Vegas lately.

The Golden Knights squandered a third-period lead for just the third time this season and fell to the Boston Bruins 3-2 at TD Garden on Tuesday. The loss dropped them to 1-2-1 on the season-long eight-game road trip, which will conclude after the All-Star break and bye week that begins this weekend.

The way the game was going, it was going to take a perfect play for the Bruins to break the forcefield around the Vegas net. They finally got that at 4:26 of the third. Jake DeBrusk walked in on Marc-Andre Fleury and fired a laser that beat him high to even the score at 2-2.

It was a necessary goal for Boston, who to that point had outplayed the Golden Knights in every statistic but the score. They controlled play through two periods but a combination of solid goaltending and some unfortunate puck luck. But as things often do, they rebounded in favor of the team playing the better game.

After chasing virtually the whole game, the Bruins finally took the lead at 12:18 of the third. David Krejci was positioned in front of the net, and his initial shot on a deflection was blocked by Fleury, but it pulled the Vegas goalie out of position. The rebound bounced right to Krejci, who had no problem depositing it for the go-ahead goal.

The Golden Knights struggled out of the gate, spending the first shift and half of the game pinned deep in their own zone. When they eventually broke out, they scored on their first trip to the Boston zone and first shot on goal, a Mark Stone backhander at 1:24 that snuck by Jaroslav Halak.

The Bruins got it back before the period expired, a Jeremy Lauzon slapshot beating Fleury from the blue line. The game remained tied until late in the second when Vegas' rookie scored the first of his career.

The Golden Knights to that point had been 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, keeping them in it despite a lopsided total in shot attempts. Then when the Golden Knights went to their second power play they made it count.

It took most of the penalty — there were only 16 seconds left — and the second unit was on, but when Nicolas Hague lined up at the top of the circle and saw Nate Schmidt's feed coming he didn't miss it, blasting a one-timer into the net at 10:59 for a 2-1 lead.

Hague continued to have a strong game, breaking up two golden looks for the Bruins, including a 2-on-1 early in the third. Schmidt, meanwhile, assisted on both of Vegas' first two goals.

The Bruins led in final shots on goal 37-29.

Special teams give Golden Knights lead over Bruins after 2

Special teams were the story of the second period. The Golden Knights were perfect, both with an extra man and when they were short-handed, scoring the period's only goal and leading the Boston Bruins 2-1 after 40 minutes.

There was an odd sequence to start the second period that led to two Bruins power plays. The first came on a William Carrier interference call, the result of him apparently not being all the way on the ice when he played the puck. As Vegas killed his penalty, there was miscommunication on whether Carrier should join the play or go the bench. The result was six men on the ice, and another Golden Knights penalty.

They killed that one too, improving to 4-for-4 short-handed early in the evening. Then after fending off all those penalties, the hockey gods rewarded the Golden Knights.

Brandon Carlo went to the box for high-sticking and Vegas went to the power play. As time was winding down in the penalty, Nicolas Hague wound up and blasted it into the net from the right circle, the first goal of his career. It was a power-play goal at 10:59 and it gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.

For good measure, the Golden Knights killed off one more Boston penalty before the period expired.

The Bruins led 9-8 in shots on goal for the second, upping their lead to 23-16 for the game.

Golden Knights weather first period, tied with Bruins

The Golden Knights' slow starts continued at TD Garden, but it didn't hurt them the way it had in games past. Vegas even scored first, but allowed a goal later in the frame to end the first in a 1-1 tie with the Boston Bruins.

The Golden Knights spent the first 80 seconds of the game pinned in their zone and withstanding Boston's early attack. It turns out all they needed to do was leave the zone and shoot once.

Nate Schmidt hit Mark Stone with an outlet pass, and Stone carried the puck over the line, the first time Vegas entered the Boston zone. Stone drove to the net and squeaked a backhander by Jaroslav Halak at the 1:24 mark, and just like that Vegas led 1-0 on Stone's 18th of the year.

The Bruins continued the pressure throughout the early-goings of the first period, including two power plays before the halfway point. Neither resulted in Boston goals, but the Golden Knights were not sharp early on.

Part of the issue was clearing the zone. On a shift with about 8:30 left in the period, three ties the Golden Knights tried to get the puck out only to have the Bruins knock the puck out of the air. It cost them, and when Jeremy Lauzon wound up from the point, his blast rolled through traffic and into the net to tie the game at 11:40.

Vegas had a power play of its own late in the period, but the best chance came short-handed off the stick of Brad Marchand.

The Bruins led in shots on goal for the first, 14-8.

Golden Knights take on Bruins in last game before long layoff

Marc-Andre Fleury skated out for the Golden Knights' optional morning skate at TD Garden this morning not looking like a player about to serve a one-game suspension.

Fleury must sit out either today's game or the first game after the break for choosing to withdraw from this weekend's All-Star Game. His presence on the ice this morning — and coach Peter DeBoer's confirmation that he's starting — means Vegas decided to push that suspension to Jan. 31.

It speaks to the importance of today's game at 4 p.m. against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins are one of the top teams in the league, and the Golden Knights are eager to enter the All-Star break and bye week on a high note.

"Hopefully we have a better game than before the Christmas break," Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "It was one of our worst games there, and we weren't ready, and hopefully we learn from that."

With days off looming, it's easy for minds to wander and think about the upcoming vacation. In their last game before Christmas, the Golden Knights were throttled by the Colorado Avalanche at home, ending the unofficial first half of the season on a low note.

Vegas picked up one point in its last game — Saturday against Montreal — which looks like it could be rather important by the end of the year. Five teams in the Pacific Division are within one point of each other in the standings, and a Golden Knights win against Boston would send them to the All-Star Game in first place. The other four are idle until next week.

"Points are all pretty tight in our division right now, so it's easy to just focus on this one next game," Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith said. "We've got to make sure that we come out with two points."

It's easier said than done. The Bruins lead the Atlantic Division with the second-most points in the NHL entering play today. They boast one of the best lines in hockey in Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, and they've only lost at home in regulation twice all year.

It won't be an easy game, but a win would send the Golden Knights into the break happy. It would also be their best road win of the season and an early feather in their cap for the DeBoer era. Vegas has yet to win at TD Garden and is is 1-3-1 all-time against the Bruins.

TV: AT&T Sports Net (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights plus-125, Bruins plus-145; over/under: 6.0 (EVEN, minus-120)

Golden Knights (25-19-7, 57 points) (11-9-4 road), fourth place, Pacific Division; first place, Wild Card

Coach: Peter DeBoer (first season)

Points leader: Max Pacioretty (47)

Goals leader: Max Pacioretty (21)

Assists leader: Mark Stone (28)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (2.85 GAA, .906 save percentage)

Bruins (28-10-12, 68 points) (16-2-9 home), first place, Atlantic Division

Coach: Bruce Cassidy (fourth season)

Points leader: David Pastrnak (70)

Goals leader: David Pastrnak (37)

Assists leader: Brad Marchand (44)

Expected goalie: Jaroslav Halak (2.27 GAA, .925 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault—Chandler Stephenson—Reilly Smith

Max Pacioretty—Paul Stastny—Mark Stone

Tomas Nosek—Cody Eakin—Alex Tuch

William Carrier—Nicolas Roy—Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Brayden McNabb—Nate Schmidt

Nick Holden—Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague—Deryk Engelland

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban