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Golden Knights secure first franchise win in Boston with convincing 4-1 victory against Bruins

Posted on by Jillian Wagner

The Vegas Golden Knights delivered a dominant performance Tuesday night at TD Garden, defeating the Boston Bruins by a final score of 4-1 to kick off Vegas’ four-game road trip.

Notably, it was the Golden Knights’ first win in Boston in franchise history.

Vegas’ top line led the way, as Chandler Stephenson, Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone combined for seven points, giving them 17 over the last two contests.

Pacioretty scored twice for his fourth two-goal game of the season, extending his point streak to nine games.

One game after Stephenson’s first career four-point game on an emotional night after the passing of his grandmother, he added three more assists in Beantown, giving him seven in the last two games. He became the first player in Golden Knights history to record three assists in consecutive games.

It was a solid team-wide effort from start to finish.

The Bruins were shorthanded, with Brad Marchand (and Craig Smith) placed in COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day.

The Bruins controlled play early in the first, but the Knights defended well and eventually took over.

The top two lines were dominant and helped the Knights pot three goals in one period against a team that had averaged 1.67 goals against per game in its previous six.

But it was Shea Theodore who opened the scoring, finding twine for the first time in 10 games to give the Knights a 1-0 lead at 13:04 of the first.

There was plenty of traffic in front of Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman, and the puck hit Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort on its way into the net. Nevertheless, it was a big goal for the young blueliner, who hadn’t scored since Nov. 16.

Pacioretty’s unearthly hot streak continued when he beat Swayman on a breakaway just 2:15 later, doubling Vegas’ lead.

Pacioretty took a gorgeous feed from Stephenson, who also tallied an assist on Theodore’s strike.

The Knights added another goal for good measure, capitalizing on a late power play. One game after giving up a buzzer-beater to Minnesota’s Mats Zuccarello, the Knights scored one of their own, also on the man advantage.

It was a pass attempt by Jonathan Marchessault that, once again, hit a Bruins skater on the way in, crossing the line with 0.4 seconds remaining.

Alex Pietrangelo got the primary assist on the play, quietly extending his point streak to four games; Reilly Smith also assisted on the goal against his former team.

Pacioretty added his second of the game and 12th of the season just over five minutes into the second period. It was a point shot that somehow got through Swayman, giving Vegas a commanding 4-0 lead.

The Knights fell victim to an early-period goal once again, this time from Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, who beat Robin Lehner on a one-timer just 21 seconds into the third period.

Taylor Hall set him up in the low slot after some confusion among Vegas blueliners in the corner.

It broke Lehner’s shutout bid, but he still finished the game with 23 saves on 24 shots for a .958 save percentage.

He wasn’t overly tested, but he made the necessary saves, including a key stop on former Golden Knights forward Erik Haula on a Boston power play early in the first period.

He took away the angles on several shots and looked confident in the crease, earning his 12th win of the year.

It was a 60-minute effort and a perfect start to a four-game road trip. The Knights are now 7-5-0 away from T-Mobile Arena this season.

Not insignificantly, the Knights took just one power play the whole game.

Even with Brad Marchand out of the lineup after being placed in COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day, staying out of the box was critical in helping the Knights preserve their lead and preventing Boston from climbing back into the game.

Vegas converted on its only power-play opportunity of the game, making it a perfect night for the special teams.

Vegas’ bread-and-butter of late has been the top line, which has been unstoppable in the last few games.

Pacioretty has 10 goals during his current seven-game goal streak and 12 in just 11 games this season.

Stephenson has seven assists in his last two games and 28 points in 27 games this year.

Stone has points in nine straight games, recording four goals and 15 points in that stretch, five of which have come in the last two.

Vegas has won five of its last six, with tonight’s win pushing them into third place in the Pacific Division with 34 points.

The Knights will look for similar results as they take on the three teams in the New York metropolitan area, starting with a back-to-back against the Devils and Rangers starting Thursday night.

Talking Points