Golden Knights jump Bruins for 4-1 win at TD Garden
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy’s return to the Boston bench was a rather unpleasant one to say the least, as the Bruins saw their five-game point streak come to an end with a 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights at TD Garden.
And in a game where not much of anything went right for the Bruins, the opening period proved to be a nightmarish one for the Black and Gold, with three goals allowed on just nine shots thrown on Jeremy Swayman’s goal.
The Vegas barrage kicked off when a Shea Theodore slapper went off Derek Forbort’s back and through Swayman at the 13:04 mark of the frame, and was doubled when Max Pacioretty received a sweet feed from Chandler Stephenson and scored on a breakaway bid just 2:15 later.
The Golden Knights even added insult to injury when Jonathan Marchessault found the back of the net with :00.5 seconds remaining in the period to give Vegas a whale a 3-0 lead through 20 minutes of play.
But the Knights weren’t done and pushed their edge to four with a Pacioretty squeaker that snuck through Swayman five minutes into the middle frame, which held as the lone goal of the period.
Patrice Bergeron and the Bruins finally responded with a goal in the third period, scored just 21 seconds into the period, but it would be their only tally of the evening despite an empty-net attack on Vegas for the final two minutes and change of action.
In net, Swayman finished with 21 saves by the night’s end and has now dropped four straight home starts (0-3-1), while the Golden Knights’ Robin Lehner finished with a 23-of-24 line for Vegas.
The Bruins played this game without wingers Brad Marchand and Craig Smith after both players landed in the league’s COVID protocol Tuesday. The day started with Smith added to the list just as the Bruins took the ice for their morning skate while Marchand was added about an hour later, and after he took part in the team’s morning skate.
Up next, and barring a full-on COVID outbreak that extends beyond Marchand and Smith, the Bruins will head to Long Island for a Thursday night head-to-head with the Islanders.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.