BOSTON – The Boston Bruins (29-20-2) exploded out of the gate for three first period goals on their way to a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights (24-13-12) at the TD Garden on Thursday night. 

Charlie McAvoy (4), Elias Lindholm (9), Tanner Jeannot (5), and David Pastrnak (21) scored for Boston; the first three goals came in a 54-second span. 

On the other end of the ice, Joonas Korpisalo recorded 30 saves to earn his fourth-straight victory. 

Unlike their last game, the Bruins flew out of the gate offensively on Thursday night. 

After killing an early penalty, the Bruins went to work on a four-minute power play. However, they needed only 40 seconds of the man-advantage. Charlie McAvoy collected a feed from David Pastrnak and unleashed a slapshot that made its way behind Akira Schmid at the 9:12 mark.  

Shortly after McAvoy’s goal, and still on the power play, the Bruins moved back into the offensive zone. David Pastrnak camped out on the right side of the ice, and Elias Lindholm positioned himself in the net-front. At the 9:42 mark, Pastrnak played it to Lindholm in front, who connected to beat Schmid only 30 seconds after McAvoy’s opener.

While the TD Garden crowd finished celebrating the Bruins’ second goal, the fourth line jumped onto the ice. Sean Kuraly won the puck off Ben Hutton’s attempted clear. Kuraly played it to Tanner Jeannot, who walked in and beat Schmid by going up high.  

All three Bruins goals came in a 54-second span. David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie assisted on the Bruins’ two power play goals. 

The first period also featured a quick fight. Ultimately, the Bruins skated into their locker room with a 3-0 lead and a 15-4 shots advantage. 

Nikita Zadorov won the puck and laid a hit on Tomas Hertl. He skated towards Schmid’s net before finding David Pastrnak on a backhand feed. From the circle, Pastrnak fired the puck past Schmid to extend the Bruins’ lead to four goals at the 7:28 mark of the second. 

Vegas added three goals during the third period. 

Norwood-native Noah Hanifin set up North Chelmsford-native Jack Eichel 31 seconds into the third period. Two minutes and 30 seconds later, Tomas Hertl added a power play goal, which sliced the Bruins’ four-goal lead in half. 

The Golden Knights were pushing in the third period, even after Bruce Cassidy pulled Schmid for the extra attacker. Pavel Dorofeyev scored to make it a one-goal game with 2:35 remaining in the game. 

However, Vegas’ 21-5 shot advantage in the third period could not push them past the Bruins. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 18 third-period shots to preserve the win and pick up two points for Boston.

The Bruins continue their quick trip at home with a game against Montreal (28-16-7) on Saturday night.