The Golden Knights started late, then spent the night trying to claw back. Boston’s early damage held up in a 4-3 Bruins win Thursday at TD Garden after Vegas cut a 4-0 hole to one on third-period goals from Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev.
“You don’t want to start late or give up a lead and try to claw back,” Ben Hutton said pregame. “When we play our game right from puck drop, we’re a good team.”
Bruins blitz early, Schmid keeps it from unraveling
Boston came out flying and left the Golden Knights chasing from the opening faceoff.
The Bruins scored three times in a span of 54 seconds midway through the first period, cashing in twice on the power play before Tanner Jeannot finished the surge at even strength. Vegas never found its legs, managing just four shots while Boston piled up 15 and closed the period with the final 10 attempts unanswered.
Akira Schmid was the only reason the game stayed within reach. He stopped several point-blank looks late in the period, including two heavy saves inside the final minute that prevented the deficit from ballooning further.
Vegas hurt itself with penalties, including a double minor, and struggled to clear the zone under pressure. Shea Theodore took a hard spill late in the period, slamming his helmeted head off the ice after a heavy hit, adding to a bruising opening 20 minutes.
The Golden Knights escaped down 3–0. It could have been worse.
The push showed up, the finish didn’t
Boston made it 4-0 in the second when David Pastrnak scored at 12:35, finishing a play set up by Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm. Vegas had a chance to change the feel earlier after Zadorov was called for hooking Mitch Marner at 4:24, but the Golden Knights’ power play came up empty.
Vegas steadied the game and the teams played the period even at 8-8 in shots. But Joonas Korpisalo, Boston’s goalie, stayed clean. Hertl had the best push late with two chances at the crease, including a wraparound, yet Korpisalo held firm and Schmid kept answering at the other end to get Vegas to the room still chasing four.
The late push finally showed up
Jack Eichel got Vegas on the board 31 seconds into the third, beating Korpisalo at 19:29 off feeds from Noah Hanifin and Kaedan Korczak to cut it to 4-1 and extend his point streak to 10 games. Then Marat Khusnutdinov took a roughing penalty at 18:22 and the Golden Knights converted when Tomas Hertl scored on the power play at 16:59, with Mark Stone and Eichel assisting to make it 4-2.
Vegas kept coming and owned the period 20-5 in shots, but Korpisalo made the saves that mattered until the end. Schmid went to the bench in the final 3 minutes as Vegas pushed 6-on-5, and Pavel Dorofeyev ripped home his 21st of the season at 2:35 to play, with Shea Theodore and Marner setting it up to pull within 4-3. Vegas pulled Schmid again at 1:55, but the equalizer never came.
Up next for the Golden Knights
Next, the Vegas Golden Knights continue their four-game road trip Friday, Jan. 23, with a visit to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EST (4 p.m. PT).
After that, Vegas heads to Ottawa to face the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, Jan. 25, at Canadian Tire Centre. That matchup begins at 5 p.m. EST (2 p.m. PT).
Finally, the Golden Knights close the road swing Tuesday, Jan. 27, against the Montréal Canadiens at Bell Centre, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. EST (4 p.m. PT).
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