Golden Knights fall to Bruins in shootout — VIDEO
The Golden Knights lost 12 home games during their inaugural season.
They surpassed that total with Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins in front of an announced crowd of 18,222 at T-Mobile Arena.
David Backes converted in the sixth round of the shootout for Boston, which won its seventh consecutive game and extended its points streak to 12 games (9-0-3).
Reilly Smith tallied his first goal since Dec. 30 in the first period and defenseman Nate Schmidt helped the Knights earn a point with his third-period goal.
The Knights, who opened a four-game homestand, fell to 17-9-4 at T-Mobile Arena after posting a 28-10-2 home mark last season.
“It’s just frustrating,” Smith said. “It was nice to be able to come back and pick up a point, but we had chances to win this game and we didn’t do that.”
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 25 saves but failed to reach the 30-win mark on his fourth try. He has lost four straight and seven of his past nine starts.
Jake DeBrusk scored in the first round of the shootout for Boston before Fleury turned aside the next four attempts.
William Karlsson was the lone player for the Knights to score in the shootout. Oscar Lindberg was stopped by Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak before Backes’ winner.
“You can never be fully satisfied unless you win, but it was a step in the right direction for our group,” Schmidt said. “I think we played a lot more complete game. It was a little bit choppy in the second period, a lot of whistles, a lot of icings and some penalties.”
DeBrusk and Brad Marchand had goals for the Bruins, who earlier Wednesday acquired center Charlie Coyle from Minnesota for prospect Ryan Donato and a fifth-round pick.
Halak made 31 saves to win his third consecutive start and improved to 2-0 against the Knights this season.
The Bruins haven’t lost in regulation since Jan. 19 against the New York Rangers.
The Knights struggled in the third period of their previous five games — when they were outscored 10-5 — and fell behind 2-1 at 1:09 of the final period when Danton Heinen set up Marchand for a one-timer from the slot.
But Schmidt responded 27 seconds later when he weaved through defenseman Charlie McAvoy and Marchand and flipped a forehand over Halak’s glove for his seventh goal.
Each team had a chance to take the lead in the final six minutes, as Karlsson found room down the left wing to ring a shot off the post.
Marchand then hit the post on a drive from the slot on the ensuing rush for the Bruins.
The Knights responded to Monday’s 3-0 loss at Colorado with a strong effort in the first period, as they finished with a 28-13 advantage in shot attempts.
But they allowed the first goal for the eighth time in the past nine games, as DeBrusk extended his goal streak to five straight games at 8:43 of the first period.
David Krejci found DeBrusk in the slot, and he made a quick spin move around Knights defenseman Shea Theodore before sending a shot into the upper corner for his 19th goal.
The Knights found the equalizer with 1:36 remaining in the period. Cody Eakin’s shot from the right point got through to Halak, but he kicked the rebound directly to Smith, who netted his 10th goal.
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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
