By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
On Thursday night, the Boston Bruins opened a three-game road trip out west against the Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop was scheduled for a late 10:00 PM Eastern, keeping the black and gold fans awake into early Friday morning as the game entered the third period. The Bruins, coming off their first loss on Monday, were looking to bounce back with a road win, but they fell short, losing 6-5.
Jeffrey Viel earned his first start of the 2025-26 season after winning a spot out of training camp. Viel played on the fourth line alongside Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic. Hampus Lindholm has been skating with the team at practice, but the Boston Bruins continued playing without him on Thursday. Jordan Harris slid into the lineup for his third game of the season. Jeremy Swayman also played in his third game of the season, making 31 saves on 37 shots. Akira Schmid picked up the win for Vegas, stopping 19 of the 24 Bruin shots.
First Period
Vegas has allowed the first goal in their first four games, and they did that again on Thursday night. Just over two minutes into the game, with the puck entering the Vegas zone, Tanner Jeannot won the race and pushed the puck to Mikey Eyssimont, who directed a pass off the boards and onto Charlie McAvoy’s stick. McAvoy teed up a shot that bounced off Akira Schmid, and Jeannot fought off Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud in front of the net to bury the rebound.
Pavel Dorofeyev tied it up for Vegas shortly after, scoring his sixth of the season by collecting the stretch pass from Mitch Marner and beating Swayman up high on a breakaway.
With three minutes to go in the first, the Bruins possessed the puck in their offensive zone. The fourth line was on the ice, and Henri Jokiharju played the puck across the blue line to Nikita Zadorov. Zadorov shot the puck at the net, right into traffic. Mark Kastelic and Jeffrey Viel crashed the front of the net; the puck went off Vegas defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and into the back of the net, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. The goal was initially credited to Jeffrey Viel, but later given to Nikita Zadorov.
The Golden Knights answered, with Cole Reinhardt getting on the score sheet with 87 seconds remaining in the period. The first period ended 2-2, with Vegas responding to both Boston goals shortly after they happened. There were no penalties in the first 20 minutes, and Vegas outshot the Bruins 11-9.
Second Period
The Golden Knights started the second period hot, coming out and continuing the goal scoring that happened in the first period. North Chelmsford, MA native Jack Eichel turned a shot towards Swayman, which redirected off of Morgan Geekie’s stick, up, and over Swayman to give Vegas a 3-2 lead. The Golden Knights held the Bruins without a shot for the first four and a half minutes of the second. On the night’s first power play, Tomas Hertl connected to give Vegas a two-goal lead.
The Bruins got their first power play opportunity seven minutes into the second period due to a holding call on Jeremy Lauzon. The power play was testing Akira Schmid, putting shots on net before Morgan Geekie fanned on a chance, held onto the puck, and found David Pastrnak’s stick. He scored, making it a one-goal game for the Bruins.
Mikey Eyssimont drew a two-minute minor with a cross-check on Brayden McNabb, putting the Bruins’ penalty kill back onto the ice. Thirty seconds into the kill, Pavel Zacha caught Tomas Hertl with a high stick, sending him to the box with a four-minute double minor, giving the Bruins’ penalty kill an uphill battle. They succeeded, killing the 90-second five-on-three and the subsequent two-and-a-half minutes of five-on-four. Jeremy Swayman made six stops on the long penalty kill.
Special teams were out to play in the second, especially after a penalty-free first period. The Bruins went to the power play with 3:10 to go, but it was unsuccessful as William Karlsson got on the board with a shorthanded goal. Vegas took a two-goal lead into the third, and outshot the Bruins in the second 13-7.
Third Period
For the second straight period, Vegas got off to a fast start. Charlie McAvoy took a two-minute minor for a high-stick on Mark Stone, and William Karlsson scored his second of the night, this time on the power play. Vegas had a three-goal lead early in the third. However, two minutes later, the fourth line was at it again for the Bruins. Sean Kuraly won a faceoff back to Mark Kastelic, who fired it by Akira Schmid’s glove and into the back of the net for his second of the season.
The third line followed up shortly thereafter. Mason Lohrei caught and possessed the puck at center ice, preventing a breakout chance for Vegas. Mikey Eyssimont was lined up on the blue line, took the pass from Lohrei, and steered the shot on Akira Schmid. It bounced through his equipment and into the back of the net, making it a one-goal game. Vegas’ three-goal lead vanished to a one-goal lead within three minutes.
The Bruins got a power play with 10:46 remaining in the game after Tomas Hertl ran Jeremy Swayman into his post, but nothing came from it. Swayman was pulled with 1:22 left for the extra attacker, but Morgan Geekie was called for interference with 64 seconds left. Time ran out on the Bruins, who picked up eight shots in the third period, totaling 24 on the night.
Although the Bruins scored five times, it was not enough as the Golden Knights’ loaded offense put six on the board. With a loss, the Bruins have dropped their last two games and fall to 3-2-0 on the season. The road trip continues on Saturday, when they travel to Denver, Colorado, to face the Avalanche, headlined by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
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