Bruins @ Golden Knights: Game Recap

By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On Twitter @adbblue

The Boston Bruins lost their third straight game in overtime, 2-1, to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights. It marked the third game of their four-game road trip, another heartbreaker, and a taste of frustration in their mouths.

This one was a goaltending duel as Jeremy Swayman and Logan Thompson both gave their teams a chance to win. But it was Thompson who outlasted Swayman, with Vegas scoring on their first and only shot in overtime for the victory. The Bruins played a strong defensive game but couldn’t finish multiple chances.

First Period

The Bruins had the first high-danger chance of the night less than a minute into the game. David Pastrnak weaved his way in alone, putting Alex Pietrangelo in a blender, but couldn’t beat Thompson. Swayman then made two point-blank saves, robbing Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson.

Vegas turned it up and accumulated just under a minute of consecutive attacking zone time midway through the period, but the Bruins were able to withstand it. Boston then pushed back, generating some extended offensive zone time of their own, but like Vegas, they couldn’t finish. Jake DeBrusk had a golden opportunity on the doorstep but was robbed by Thompson.

The Bruins took two straight penalties and had to kill off a five-on-three situation for 21 seconds, which they did so successfully. It was a scoreless opening frame, with Vegas leading in the shots in the goal department 12 to eight. Swayman was sharp in the net, making several key stops and 12 overall for the period. 

Second Period

The second period started with the Black and Gold having a couple of solid shifts in the attacking zone but had nothing to show. It was stalemate hockey from that point to midway through the middle frame, with little action. John Beecher changed that with a great chance off the rush as the trailer, but his shot went wide off the net.

Boston became shorthanded for the third time in the game when Charlie McAvoy was called for delay of game. The puck clearly deflected off a stick before going out of play, which the officials missed. It didn’t matter, as the Bruins killed it off. They then had quality chances from Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie, but Thompson stopped both.

Boston finally got their first power play with just over three minutes to go when Trent Frederic was high-sticked. However, They couldn’t generate anything on it and failed to score. There were 16 combined shots in the stanza, with the Bruins having the edge ten to six. Both goaltenders again stopped every shot faced. 

Third Period and Overtime

Head coach Jim Montgomery shuffled up the lines to start the third period, moving James van Riemsdyk up to play with Zacha and Pastrnak. Boston became shorthanded less than two minutes in after a questionable hooking call on Danton Heinen. A minute into the Knights’s power play, it was canceled out by an Ivan Barbashev tripping penalty, which made his team shorthanded for a minute.

The Bruins couldn’t capitalize, and then shortly after, were shorthanded with Heinen taking back-to-back penalties. Vegas was able to cash in, with Marchessault finding Jack Eichel for a tip in through Swayman’s five-hole to make it 1-0. Boston had another power play but once again failed to convert. They were, however, able to tie the game 1-1 after a Vegas turnover led to Matt Grzelcyk firing home a wrister from the left point.

That shifted the momentum in their favor, as they had a few more quality chances following them tying the game. The Knights had a crazy sequence just before the four-minute mark, but the Swayman went into desperation mode to keep the puck out. The Bruins had a really solid shift just before the end of regulation, but nothing came of it, and the game went to overtime. Less than a minute into the extra period, the Knights won it with a tap-in goal by Pietrangelo of a two-on-one. The Bruins never possessed the puck in overtime.

Up Next

The Bruins will wrap up their four-game road trip against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night in a 2019 Stanley Cup Finals Rematch. Puck drop will be at 8:00 p.m. on the East Coast and will be the first of two team meetings this season.