First off, nice to see Bruce Cassidy and then Dave Goucher downstairs before today’s matinee at TD Garden between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Boston Bruins. This is the final game for Boston before the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off that will be played next week in Montreal and the following Monday and Thursday here in Boston.
Coming in at 32-17-6, the VGK’s sit second in the Pacific Division, wedged between Edmonton and Los Angeles. The Bruins, who 56 games played are second in the NHL only to the 57 played by the Colorado Avalanche, are out of the playoffs and needing to make hay with fewer sunshines remaining than their competition for one of the two Wild Card playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
The Tampa Bay Lightning just broke the Detroit Red Wings’ winning streak at seven, but the Bruins still look up at both teams.
Massachusetts native Jack Eichel is in the starting lineup for Vegas, and so is Norwood’s Noah Hanifin, the player most coveted by the Boston Bruins over the past decade. Ilya Samsonov is in net. Did I mention that the VGK’s are coached by Bruce Cassidy?
It’s almost game time at TDG; I will post line charts upon their imminent delivery.
FIRST PERIOD
Brad Marchand is left unchecked at the right post. Pinching up the left boards, Nikita Zadorov fired the puck at Marchand, who had the gaping net to himself at 3:17 for a 1-0 Boston lead.
Jeremy Swayman was tested early in this game, but the Bruins have bounced back to sustain their own pressure in the Vegas end.
David Pastrnak corralled a puck and passed to Morgan Geekie on the 2-on-1, but Samsonov read it perfectly and made a save that had the TD Garden crowd groaning at the video replay.
Mark Kastelic, who has taken a beating for his team this season, blocked a shot from the point by Brayden McNabb and needed time to shake off the effects.
Pastrnak gathered a pass and found a seam to fire on Samsonov, who needed an extra moment to make sure the puck hadn’t broken through his goalie gear.
9:26 left in the first period, 1-0 Bruins.
A gathering at the benches and McNabb pushes on Trent Frederic. The crowd gives it no room to breathe, but Oliver Wahlstrom and Keegan Kolesar throw haymakers away from the scrum and Wahlstrom goes down. All this with 6:36 remaining in the first period of a 1-0 game.
Offsetting majors (Kolesar and Wahlstrom) and minors (Pavel Dorofeyev and Frederic).
The Bruins have a shot in front and go hard at it. Samsonov makes one save in tight, but the puck pops out to Zadorov who hammers it home for a 2-0 Boston lead at 13:49. TD Garden crowd roars.
Alex Pietrangelo goes down hard on the chase, and Johnny Beecher goes to the box for tripping at 14:30.
Vegas gets the first powerplay of the game.
Zadorov has extra time to clear, but his aerial up the middle is knocked down by Tomas Hertl, and Shea Theodore’s point shot is tipped by Mark Stone and finds the net at 15:09. 2-1.
Brandon Carlo is sent to the penalty box for roughing with 3:32 remaining. Carlo stuck out his left arm to impede the forechecker (Hertl), who went down so roughing was the call.
Vegas is 1-for-1 on the PP: The Bruins get the kill this time.
Period ends, Bruins lead 2-1 and have outshot Vegas, 11-10.
SECOND PERIOD
Neat, sharp-angle shot by Dorofeyev. Swayman controls it.
Bruins under siege early in the second, Carlo makes a big block on a shot off a cross-ice pass.
Raphael Lavoie shakes off the backcheck to drill a puck on the fly that sails wide of Swayman.
Jonas Rondbjerg leverages a Mason Lohrei turnover on the chase, but Lohrei recovers and helps the Bruins get the puck out.
Michael Callahan thought he had a solid outlet but no, then Pastrnak is outwitted on the halfwall by Brandon Saad, and the puck stays in.
Vegas is forechecking hard, and the Bruins are challenged.
Dorofeyev to the box, Bruins to the powerplay.
Great puck play by Charlie McAvoy under tight checking at the right point, gets it over to Lohrei. Nothing came of it, but that easily could have been Vegas with an odd-man rush.
Bruins getting physical at both ends. Kastelic made a noisy knockdown of Zach Whitecloud on the forecheck, then Callahan put down Brett Howden after Swayman stopped a shot from the point.
Bruins under pressure, can’t get a substantial clear, then ice the puck so that’s two more cycles. Now it’s a D-zone faceoff for Elias Lindholm. He wins it off of Hertl and the Bruins get out. Big win for Lindholm.
Hertl, however, breaks through the fresh troops and it takes a great save by Swayman to deny his backhand with 6:43 left in the second.
All Vegas; the Golden Knights are outshooting the Bruins 14-6 for the period.
A misplay behind the Vegas net, and Morgan Geekie makes a goal out of it, 3-1 Boston with 4:53 remaining in the second period. Pastrnak made it happen, lifting Samsonov’s stick when the Vegas goalie was waiting on his defenseman to take the puck. Great assist by Pasta.
Coyle and Marchand forecheck hard on Whitecloud and Hanifin.
The Golden Knights think they’ve scored with 33.3 seconds left in the second period. It’s been their period all the way except for the sneaky steal Pastrnak made out from under Samsonov. The Knights were right, it’s 3-2 as the puck slid fully across the line while under Swayman’s backside, revealed as he rolled off the puck and it finished its course. The credit for the goal has not yet been officially announced.
Whitecloud is the goal scorer for Vegas at 19:26.
The period ends 3-2 for the Bruins.
Shots 18-10 for Vegas in the second period (28-18 total after two).
THIRD PERIOD
The Bruins have to be better in the third to avoid letting this become another tight game that got away. No games until Saturday, Feb. 22, vs. Anaheim, so the teams will leave it out there.
VGK wants to win not only for coach Bruce Cassidy but with a divisional race, while the Bruins’ position in the standings and the games in hand held by their competition for a playoff spot speak for themselves.
Coyle early 2-on-1, but Theodore shuts him down and Coyle wipes out on the end boards.
Dorofeyev ties it on a pretty play, “combination hockey” as former Bruin Jozef Stumpel called it. Turning a zone entry against more-than-adequate numbers into what Jack Edwards refers to as a tic-tac-goal. Time of the tying tally: 4:54. 3-3 game with most of the third period left to play.
The Bruins make a neat play ending with the slight redirection of a shot from the high slot, but Samsonov was – cliche alert! – = to the task.
Lohrei loses the puck to Kolesar on the chase, and Swayman saves the day.
11:11 remaining in regulation with the score tied 3-3.
Zacha wins a draw to Pastrnak, who puts the puck on Samsonov. Good chance for the Bruins, who need to match VGK’s possession game here in the final 10 minutes of regs.
Zadorov scores from the point, but Marchand backed into Samsonov so the goal is disallowed. No penalty, just no goal. Still 3-3. The partisan crowd is not having it.
Chances for both teams, but the scariest one comes from Rondbjerg, who does a Mario Lemieux (stick to the hands) on McAvoy from behind and snakes the puck away for a point-blank chance with 3:17 left. Swayman has it blocked, so we remain at 3-3.
Zacha to the box for slashing to disrupt a Vegas shot from the circle. Might have been a good penalty … if they can kill it.
Carlo makes a block on Stone from the slot, but Dorofeyev buries the open sider and it’s under review again with 1:41 remaining (32 seconds left on Zacha’s penalty).
The 18,000 referees in the stands think Stone interfered with Swayman, but the goal goes up on the board, so Vegas leads 4-3 with 1:41 left in regulation. Their first lead of the game.
What a heartbreaker this will be for the Bruins should they not find the tying goal here.
Timeout with the on-ice officials on the phone.
Will they be overruled? Can they on this play?
Goaltender interference, as Stone bumped Swayman’s head before he could get across to try and stop Dorofeyev.
It does not matter as Hertl scores with 1:10 left, and it’s 4-3 with 31 fewer seconds to work with. Boy, that didn’t work out, did it?
Swayman to the bench, Stone hits the side of the net but follows up and centers. Pastrnak with the interference, so he goes to the box with 50.4 seconds left. Powerplay for Vegas, as the fans pour out of TD Garden.
Golden Knights eke this one out, 4-3, and the Bruins take a two-game losing streak into the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Tough one for the Bruins, who played hard but once again could not outscore their mistakes against a NHL elite.
Drive safely and beat the storm.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 