Max Pacioretty’s 2 goals lift Golden Knights past Bruins
Max Pacioretty slowly raised his hands over his head and looked at his teammates for reassurance, momentarily unsure if his shot during the second period went into the net.
There shouldn’t have been any doubt, since everything seems to be going in for the Golden Knights winger right now.
Pacioretty continued his hot streak with two goals, and the Knights opened their East Coast road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
“It was a good start to a tough road trip in a tough building,” coach Pete DeBoer said, “and I liked our game.”
The Knights put together one of their most complete efforts to win for the fifth time in the past six games. It was their first victory at Boston in four tries.
Pacioretty extended his goal streak to a franchise-record seven games and has points in nine straight, matching the longest run in team history.
He is tied for the team lead with 12 goals in 11 appearances and has four multi-goal games despite missing six weeks with a broken foot.
The Knights scored four goals on their first 11 shots, causing the home fans to boo the Bruins at the end of the first two periods.
Jonathan Marchessault scored his 12th goal with less than one second remaining in the first period on a power play to put the Knights ahead 3-0. Reilly Smith was credited with an assist on the play for his 400th career NHL point.
Defenseman Shea Theodore opened the scoring in the first period when his shot deflected off Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort.
“Things have been rolling,” center Chandler Stephenson said on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. “We just want to keep it going and focused on the road trip.”
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. Carrying the offense
The top line of Pacioretty, Stephenson and Mark Stone is on a serious heater, with 17 points combined in their past two games.
They teamed up for seven points against the Bruins.
Stone picked up two assists and matched Pacioretty with a nine-game point streak (four goals, 11 assists).
Stephenson finished with three assists and has seven in his past two games after his grandmother died last week. He is the first player in team history to record at least three assists in consecutive games, according to NHL public relations.
“Just getting some puck luck right now,” Stephenson said. “I think that just comes with playing with each other more. Experience, confidence, all that. I do think that we just kind of know each other right now.”
2. Lehner bounces back
DeBoer has been critical of his goaltending recently, but Robin Lehner broke out of his slump, stopping 23 of 24 shots. The only goal he allowed came 21 seconds into the third period when Patrice Bergeron cashed in a Taylor Hall feed.
Lehner struggled in Sunday’s win over Minnesota and was pulled after allowing three goals on 10 shots against Dallas in the start before that. This was his first outing since Nov. 4 in which he allowed one goal.
Former Knight Erik Haula had Boston’s best chances in the first and third periods but was turned away by Lehner both times.
Boston had four shots at even strength in the first period and two were from more than 50 feet away. It was the fifth consecutive game the Knights have allowed 27 shots or fewer.
“I liked our defensive game,” DeBoer said.
3. Lineup changes
The Knights played without center Nicolas Roy, who was a late scratch after taking warmups. Brett Howden returned to the lineup after missing the past five games and replaced Roy.
Boston didn’t have leading scorer Brad Marchand or forward Craig Smith, who were among the numerous players around the league Tuesday to enter the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
