Final: Golden Knights 4, Bruins 3 - Bruins unable to hold 2 goal lead as Golden Knights complete comeback victory in 3rd period

In yet another blown lead, the Bruins fall to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 losing an early two goal lead.

Boston played one of their best periods of the season against one of the best teams in the NHL, yet things took a complete 180 the remaining 40 minutes of this game.

In the first period, the Bruins got out to an early 1-0 lead as Nikita Zadorov sent the puck to an open Brad Marchand in front of the net.

Boston added onto their lead with a slap shot goal from Zadorov. Ilya Samsonov couldn't freeze the puck as a swarm of players were fighting for the puck in front of the net, and Zadorov delivered a blast to the net once the puck made its way towards him.

Vegas ended up cutting the lead with a late first period goal, but the Bruins completely dominated the Golden Knights in this period. Boston applied the pressure the entire first period winning puck battles and keeping the puck in their possession, and it lead to goals that they haven't been able to produce this entire season.

However, Boston was unable to keep their strong play the remainder of the game. Vegas played as the more dominant team in this period winning more puck battles and staying in their offensive zone the majority of this period, yet Boston ended up scoring the first goal from Morgan Geekie that extended David Pastrnak's point streak.

The Golden Knights again cut the lead in half with a late period goal with Jeremy Swayman unable to hold onto a puck that barely got past the goal line.

Trying to keep ahold of a one goal lead in the final period, the Bruins struggled mightily. Pavel Dorofeyev scored the tying goal five minutes into the third period, and Boston again struggled to get the puck out of their own zone.

The Bruins nearly broke the tie with a shot from the point from Zadorov, but Marchand made contact with Samsonov which the referees immediately called off.

With five minutes remaining in the game, Pavel Zacha was called for a slashing penalty, giving Vegas a power play opportunity to win the game.The Golden Knights scored a goal that was later called back after Mark Stone made contact with Swayman, but Tomas Hertl scored with a second left on the power play which officially gave Vegas the lead and the win.

Yet again, the Bruins can't play a full three periods of quality hockey which resulted in this loss. The difference between the first period and the rest of the game is significant, and it's frustrating to see. They had an opportunity to get back into the wild card and gain momentum going into the Four Nations break, but they failed to do so with this loss. One of the most frustrating games to watch for Bruins fans.

Boston's next game will be on February 22nd.

__________________________

WHO: Bruins (27-23-6) vs Golden Knights (32-17-6)
WHEN: 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub

LIVE BOX SCORE

ROSTERS

PROJECTED LINES

Boston

Geekie - Zacha - Pastrnak

Marchand - Lindholm - Coyle

Frederic - Poitras - Brazeau

Wahlstrom - Kastelic - Koepke

Lohrei - McAvoy

Zadorov - Peeke

Callahan - Carlo

Swayman

Korpisalo

Vegas

Barbashev - Eichel - Olofsson

Holtz - Hertl - Dorofeyev

Saad - Howden - Stone

Rondbjerg - Keegan - Kolesar

Hague - Pietrangelo

McNabb - Theodore

Hanifin - Whitecloud

Hill

Samsonov

PREGAME NOTES

The Bruins take on the Vegas Golden Knights in their final game before the Four Nations Face-Off break.

The Golden Knights are 32-17-6 on the season, but are on a stretch over the last month in which they’ve gone 4-8-3, and had lost four straight before a 3-1 victory on Thursday.

“It’s been a little unique for us this year getting out of the gate not as fast as we’d like. And we’re in the middle of things,” Sweeney said during the second period of TNT’s game broadcast. “It’s a tough exercise to play both sides of the street.”

Bruins president Cam Neely said the team is ready to prepare two paths when it comes to the deadline, but doesn’t necessarily have the appetite for a roster retool. (MassLive)