David Pastrnak Lifts Bruins Past Golden Knights 3-2 in Shootout

David Pastrnak scored the decisive goal in the third round of a shootout to propel the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night at TD Garden. With the win, Boston improved its record to 11-4-1 and extended its home winning streak to six consecutive games.

The Bruins established an early advantage in the first period when James Hagens netted his sixth goal of the season at the 7:23 mark, taking advantage of assists from Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. Morgan Geekie then doubled Boston's lead early in the second period with a power-play goal, assisted by Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak.

Vegas fought back later in the middle frame when Mark Stone capitalized on a power play to put the Golden Knights on the board, cutting the deficit to 2-1. The visitors evened the score 7:23 into the third period after Trevor Connelly pounced on a loose puck in front of the net and slid it past Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Noah Hanifin and Mitch Marner earned assists on the tying play.

Neither team managed to break the tie during a tense 3-on-3 overtime period, pushing the matchup into a shootout. In the third round, Swayman denied Mitch Marner before Pastrnak beat Vegas goaltender Carter Hart to seal the victory for Boston.

Swayman finished the night with 21 saves through regulation and overtime, while stopping three shootout attempts from Vegas skaters. At the other end of the ice, Hart turned away 25 shots for the Golden Knights during regulation play.

The game featured physical play, highlighted by a major penalty in the first period when Vegas forward Braeden Bowman received a five-minute major for elbowing and a 10-minute game misconduct following an incident involving Boston's Matthew Poitras. The Bruins capitalized on the resulting power play with Geekie's goal.

The loss continues a difficult stretch for the Golden Knights, who have now dropped five of their last six games following an 8-2 start to the season. Vegas also continued to struggle on the penalty kill, a vulnerability that has plagued the team in recent weeks.

Following Monday's contest, both teams will travel to Pennsylvania for their next matchups. The Golden Knights are scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, while the Bruins will face the same opponent in Pittsburgh on Thursday.