Halak makes 37 saves for Bruins in win against Golden Knights

BOSTON -- Jaroslav Halak made 37 saves, and David Pastrnak scored his NHL-leading 16th goal to help the Boston Bruins to a 4-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at TD Garden on Sunday.

Danton Heinen, Jeremy Lauzon and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins (10-5-2), who went 3-1-0 on their four-game homestand, including a 5-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. They lost 8-5 to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and defeated the Dallas Stars 2-1 in overtime Monday.
"I mean, 4-0 would be what we strive for, didn't happen," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Vancouver game ... I looked at it, listen, it was 2-1 for us, we had a lead in the second period, and then it got away from us late in the second period. ... Good win against Toronto, and Vegas I don't care what their record is, they're a hard team to play against and they're a good hockey club. And I thought the Dallas game we played more to our style, and that's kind of got us going a little bit. So yeah, it's a good week."
WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Bruins highlights]
Halak's busiest period was the first, when he made the save on all 15 shots he faced and the Bruins killed three Golden Knights power plays.
"They got some momentum going their way, but we were able to come out strong and kill all of them and get a goal," said Halak, who made 40 saves against Toronto. "So you know that's what good teams do and that's what we did tonight, and I think ... the first period was kind of a little slower, but I think the second and third we played much better."

Cody Eakin scored, and Malcolm Subban made 33 saves for the Golden Knights (7-10-1), who went 1-3-0 on their four-game road trip. Vegas is 3-6-1 in its past 10 games.
"We had enough chances in the last few games to make it a positive road trip, and we kind of found a way to give them away," Eakin said. "So like I said, it's got to come internally and there's some work to be done."
Heinen scored 2:54 into the game to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Anders Bjork led a rush up ice after winning a board battle in the defensive zone and set up Heinen for a tap-in from the top of the crease.
Lauzon made it 2-0 with his first NHL goal at 17:51. After Sean Kuraly shot the puck off the end wall, the carom eluded Subban, who was out of his crease, and Lauzon took advantage by shooting the puck into the open net.
"At the beginning, I was just going for the puck, and it just bounced right on my stick," Lauzon said.
Marchand made it 3-0 58 seconds into the second period. During a power play, Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron each had a shot blocked in front, but Marchand got the loose puck in the slot and beat Subban with a backhand shot.
Alex Tuch stole the puck from defenseman John Moore at the Boston blue line to set up Eakin's goal that cut the Bruins lead to 3-1. After Tuch gained the offensive zone and took Moore wide to the left wing, he made a one-hand pass to the right hash marks, where Eakin scored on a wrist shot at 10:55.
Pastrnak, who had an assist on Marchand's goal, scored with a one-timer from the bottom of the left face-off circle on a 5-on-3 power play at 16:08 of the third period for the 4-1 final score. He had a hat trick against the Maple Leafs and has five goals in the past four games and six in the past six games.

They said it

"I just tried something different, that's all. Things weren't going good, so we just wanted to try something different and see how it works." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant on changing their top two forward lines by switching Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault in the second period
"Well we've seen it from Day One. So we knew he was a good goaltender. I couldn't sit here and tell you he'd be leading the League in save percentage, goals-against, or whatever he is, first or second. We knew he'd be solid. So he's certainly exceeded expectations, and it's what's required right now." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on goaltender Jaroslav Halak

Need to know

Heinen, Kuraly and Golden Knights forward Tomas Nosek each played his 100th NHL game. ... Vegas played the 100th game in its history (58-34-8). ... Bergeron, who got an assist on Marchand's goal, has two goals and four assists in a four-game point streak. … Bruins center David Krejci had an assist on Pastrnak's goal to extend his point streak to four games (six assists).

What's next

Golden Knights: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN)
Bruins: At the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; ALT, NESN, NHL.TV)