Smith has hat trick for Bruins in win against Golden Knights

Craig Smith scored his third NHL hat trick in a 5-2 win for the Boston Bruins against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday.

David Pastrnak had two goals, Trent Frederic had three assists, and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves for Boston (33-18-4), which has won six of seven.
"I think good teams need secondary support," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Tonight, [Charlie] Coyle's line was excellent, and I thought [Erik] Haula's line did some good things too. … Our third line comes through, and if that can be a thing that you can get through some games where your top guys aren't going, or you don't get on the power play much, or generate on it, then you're going to be dangerous."

Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault scored, and Robin Lehner made 31 saves for Vegas (30-21-4).
"I think there's always solutions and things you can do better, and I do think it's execution," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "When you've got [Max] Pacioretty and [Mark] Stone out of the lineup, you can't have multiple guys going double-digit games without a goal. That's the difference in a game like that. Two pretty even teams and a tightly contested game."
Smith gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 13:18 of the first period with a wrist shot from the high slot off a pass from Frederic after Derek Forbort forced a turnover in the neutral zone. It was Smith's first goal since Jan. 30 (13 games).
"I think one of the things we focused on tonight was a little bit of spacing at times," Smith said. "I think there are certain areas where we think alike and get into the same position in the [offensive] zone, which you can cover with a blanket, so I think we fixed that a little bit tonight, and it opened up some things for us."
Smith made it 2-0 at 11:03 of the second period with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle off a cross-zone pass from Coyle.
Eichel cut it to 2-1 at 17:34, scoring five hole on a breakaway after the Boston turned it over at Vegas' blue line. It was Eichel's first goal at home since making his Golden Knights debut Feb. 16, a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
"I think they might have had a bad change there, the puck came out of the zone, and I think I had a step on my guy," Eichel said. "I just tried to go to the forehand, I lost the puck and it went into the net. I'll take it."

Pastrnak increased the lead to 3-1 at 8:14 of the third period with his 30th goal of the season, scoring on his own rebound at the top of the crease after Lehner saved his backhand.
Smith completed the hat trick to make it 4-1 at 14:39 with a one-timer from the left half wall.
"I think any time you can pop three, it's great," Smith said. "It's great here, and obviously road wins are huge, too. It's special with the team. Any time you can get three, you'll take them when you can get them."
Marchessault cut it to 4-2 at 16:38 with a wrist shot through a screen from the right face-off circle.
"We're trying to get some mojo, but at some point there's no excuses for our group," Marchessault said. "Enough is enough. We can blame it as much as we want on every little thing, injuries, or whatever. It doesn't matter. The guys in the lineup, we all have to step up. Good teams find a way to win, and we're not doing that."
Pastrnak scored into an empty net at 18:20 for the 5-2 final.
NOTES:Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb (undisclosed) left in the second period. DeBoer said he is being evaluated. … Pastrnak reached the 30-goal mark for the fifth time in his NHL career, tying Bobby Orr for the fourth-most in Bruins history. … Pastrnak has scored 23 goals and 35 points in his past 27 games. … Smith's hat trick is the fifth of the season for Boston, which is tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most in the NHL. … Frederic had gone eight games without a point since scoring in a 2-0 win at the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 12. … Haula had two assists. … The Golden Knights are 1-for-18 on the power play (5.6 percent) in the past nine games. … Vegas plays at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.