Newcomers carry Golden Knights past Bruins
LAS VEGAS -- Alex Tuch and Vadim Shipachyov each scored their first career NHL goals and Malcolm Subban stopped 21 shots while picking up his first career victory to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
Tuch and Shipachyov were both recalled from AHL Chicago over the weekend due to injuries to Jonathan Marchessault and Erik Haula while Subban was making his first start for the Golden Knights in place of injured starter Marc-Andre Fleury.
Subban, claimed off waivers from the Bruins on Oct. 3, was making just the third start of his NHL career after compiling an 0-2 record and 5.82 goals-against average with the Bruins. But Subban made 21 saves, outdueling Bruins starter Tuukka Rask, who finished with 23 saves.
Tuch broke the scoreless tie with 5:21 to go in the second period. The former No. 1 pick of the Minnesota Wild stole the puck from behind from Sean Kuraly near center ice, spun and ricocheted it off the boards and then picked it back up near the right circle where he wristed a shot over Rask's left shoulder and under the crossbar.
The Golden Knights made it 2-0 three minutes later when Tuch picked up a rebound of his own shot to the left of the goal, spun around and passed it to an open Shipachyov, who drilled it in from the right side of the crease.
Subban lost his shutout with just 30 seconds left when David Pastrnak's pass from behind the goal caromed in off the skate of center William Karlsson and into the net.
The Golden Knights' Oscar Lindberg ended the scoring with an empty-net goal with 13.5 second remaining.
NOTES: The Golden Knights placed G Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) and C Jonathan Marchessault (lower-body injury) on the injured reserve list on Sunday morning and recalled G Maxime Lagace and F Alex Tuch from AHL Chicago. ... Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said before the game that he was hopeful Fleury, who has been sidelined multiple times with concussions during his career, could be back as soon as a Oct. 21 home contest against St. Louis. ... Boston was without C Patrice Bergeron (lower-body injury) for the fifth straight game but head coach Bruce Cassidy, according to the team's website, said "there is good progression" being made by the center and said he'll be close to playing by Thursday's home game against Vancouver. ... D Paul Postma and C Austin Czarnik joined Bergeron as scratches for the Bruins while Ds Brayden McNabb, Jason Garrison and Griffin Reinhart were scratched by the Golden Knights. ... Shipachyov, who signed a two-year, $9 million deal with Vegas in the spring after starring for SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, was recalled from Chicago on Saturday after Haula suffered a lower-body injury in Friday night's 6-3 loss to Detroit.