BOSTON – Marco Sturm was correct when he said his team’s loss on Tuesday was a positive; one game was all the Bruins needed to get back in the win column.
Boston (28-20-2) exploded for three goals in 54 seconds and continued with another goal in the second period. The Vegas Golden Knights (24-13-12) attempted a comeback in the third period, but fell one goal short.
Two of those three goals came on the power play, which proved costly against a team that does not draw many penalties.
“They were quick, we were direct, and it went in today,” David Pastrnak said about the team’s power play. “Big two goals, obviously, that sets up the confidence in the game, obviously, when we can help out the team with two goals right away.”
Vegas ranks 32nd in penalties taken (144); they took four against Boston on Thursday. The first one was a double-minor, which came back to bite Vegas. Tomas Hertl caught Alex Steeves up high, and Boston only needed 40 seconds of power play time to score twice.
Charlie McAvoy and Elias Lindholm connected for the power play goals, while David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie assisted on both. For Lindholm, that is his sixth power play goal and 17th power play point of the season.
“I think it just took him a little bit, but he’s been pretty rock solid,” Marco Sturm said about Elias Lindholm. “He’s one of those guys that you trust – I trust. He’s in the right spot most of the time. Another guy that I’m pleased with his game.”
Shortly after the power play, the fourth line prolonged the goal scoring. Tanner Jeannot, who scored the goal, has 19 points on the season, which is the most he has had in a single season since 2021-22, when he had 41.
“All three of us play a simple game; we support each other well,” Jeannot said about his linemates. “We just want to be hard on other teams, playing in the [offensive] zone as much as we can, and we got rewarded tonight.”
The dominant play would further continue throughout the first period, as Boston posted 14 shots to Vegas’ five. The Bruins also generated 27 shot attempts, compared to the Golden Knights’ 11.
Then, David Pastrnak scored the Bruins’ fourth goal in the second period. Nikita Zadorov created the play. He barreled into the zone, knocked Tomas Hertl off of him, and played it with his backhand to Pastrnak.
At the time, it seemed like the Bruins had figured out Akira Schmid, but that was all the Bruins had in their arsenal for goal scoring on Thursday night.
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“It was probably one of our better 40 minutes playing, you know, hockey,” Marco Sturm said after the game.
The game seemed over as the Bruins cruised into the third period with a four-goal lead. However, they were playing the Golden Knights, and Bruce Cassidy’s team was not going down without a fight.
“It’s a good team over there,” David Pastrnak said after the game. “They made their push. Yes, we would like to play better in the third, but can’t take the credit from them. They made a big push.”
The third period featured three Vegas goals, including two in 150 seconds. Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, and Pavel Dorofeyev scored the Golden Knights’ goals, with Dorofeyev’s coming late with the extra attacker on the ice.
“We kind of limped to the finish line there,” Charlie McAvoy said postgame. “We’d like to dictate more. I’d love to see that game just end 4-0, and we can play, or even extend the lead just by doing it the right way.”
Joonas Korpisalo’s play certainly aided the Bruins on their way to a win. He stopped 18 of 21 Vegas shots in the third period, and 30 in total, helping to seal the Bruins’ win. For Korpisalo, Thursday marked his fourth consecutive win.
“You know they’re coming,” Joonas Korpisalo said after the game. “It’s a skilled team, and they have the guys who make the plays. You just got to grind it out.”
McAvoy said they limped, and he has the grounds to say that. McAvoy ate a shot from Jack Eichel in the game’s dying seconds to keep Vegas from tying the game.
“Yeah, no fine. I’ll be sore,” McAvoy said about his leg, which he used to block the shot. “We say it in here, it was my turn. You know, sometimes it’s your turn. It was my turn. You got to block that shot, and we got to see this thing through. Two points is huge for us, and what this team’s trying to accomplish.”
On a night where the team celebrated Hockey for Everyone Night, the Bruins held on and collected their sixth-straight home win.
“It was really important for us to capitalize on home ice,” Charlie McAvoy said postgame. “We’ve been really good here, feeding off the fans.”
Boston will remain at the TD Garden for their next game, hoping to turn six into seven on Saturday. Their next game will be an Original Six matchup showcasing one of the greatest rivalries in the sport. Montreal (28-16-7) will come to town; they currently sit three points ahead of the Bruins in the Atlantic Division.