Bruins Beat Golden Knights 3-2 in Shootout, ‘No Quit Out There’

BOSTON –– Jeremy Swayman made all three stops in the shootout on Monday night at TD Garden.

David Pastrnak then hopped over the boards, pulled the puck to his forehand, tucked it past Carter Hart, and secured the full two points and 3-2 win for the Boston Bruins over the Vegas Golden Knights.​

“There’s no quit out there. Even when we face adversity, we are able to come back. David’s goal was really cool – just a great all-around team win,” James Hagens said. “When we win, you heard the building tonight; it was one of the best feelings in the world.”

The 19-year-old forward opened scoring in the first period with his sixth goal and 12th point of the season. Hagens now leads all NHL rookies in both categories.

“It’s been really fun being here and being part of this, and that stuff doesn’t matter,” Hagens said. “Just to be around something like this – I think our culture kind of speaks to how we’re playing out there…I’m just really grateful to be here.”

​Nikita Zadorov nearly gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead before Hagens buried it at 7:23. Zadorov’s shot rang off the post and into the Golden Knights’ crease. The B’s contained Vegas’ attempted clear and pushed the pressure until Elias Lindholm got the puck from Zadorov behind the net and found Hagens in front to snap it home.

“I thought [Zadorov] scored, too. We were able to circle back on it. I think we were just able to stay above it and get a goal,” Hagens said. “It’s just trying to put your head down and work. We’ve been getting matchups with some of the top guys on the other teams, and when that happens, you’ve got to work hard.”​

Matt Poitras took an elbow to the face from Vegas forward Braeden Bowman, who subsequently received a five-minute major and game misconduct.

“He went in the room again, so I can’t give you an update yet,” head coach Marco Sturm said of Poitras. “Hopefully it’s not too bad. We will see tomorrow where he is at.”

The Bruins converted on the man advantage, with Morgan Geekie scoring his second goal in two games. Pastrnak protected the puck down low before flipping it to Pavel Zacha, who got it to Geekie for the blasted one-timer from the right circle at 3:23 for the 2-0 lift.

“Honestly, I was just trying to catch my brother [Conor Geekie]. He’s got three in a row,” Geekie said with a laugh of his scoring streak. “We don’t really text each other about it. It’s our brother in between us that kind of lets both of us hear it. So it’s good. It’s lots of fun, and obviously, it adds a little lighter aspect to everything.”

Mark Stone got Vegas within one with a power-play goal at 14:58, and the B’s headed into the third up 2-1. Trevor Connelly, though, found the 2-2 equalizer at 7:23 and forced overtime.

“We knew coming in that they’re a good team; obviously went to the final last year, so it was a good test for us,” Geekie said. “They’re a good team; they’re going to get opportunities. But I think for us, try to stay as calm and even-keeled as we could, and be able to weather the storm.”

The Bruins had their chances in OT and eventually ended things in the shootout; Pastrnak was the lone scorer. Boston has now won six consecutive games at TD Garden, and has eight out of its 10 remaining matchups this month on home ice.

“I think we were due for a detailed game like that, a structured game like that because I feel like we didn’t play that way for the last little while,” Sturm said. “So, I am very happy about the effort and the way we played.”

The B’s are back in action on Thursday when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 7 p.m. matchup at PPG Paints Arena.