Golden Knights at Bruins
The expansion Vegas Golden Knights have faced a bit of turbulence given the constant uneven turns of their goaltender carousel while the Boston Bruins have their own health issues of late. Both teams look to snap modest two-game losing skids on Thursday when they play the finale of their two-game season series at TD Garden in Boston.
Maxime Lagace became the fourth goaltender to start for the Golden Knights this season after turning aside 32 shots in a 6-4 setback at the New York Rangers on Tuesday. "I'm taking the experience in and I'm having fun with all of that. I wish we won (Tuesday) but it's going to be refocus for next game," said the 24-year-old Lagace, who made his second appearance and first NHL start after Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion), Malcolm Subban (lower body) and Oscar Dansk (lower body) were placed on injured reserve. While Vegas let a third-period lead slip away, Boston saw Tyler Toffoli score as time expired in a 2-1 overtime setback to Los Angeles on Saturday before rallying from a three-goal deficit two nights later only to drop a 4-3 shootout decision at Columbus. Brad Marchand, who had an assist in the Bruins' 3-1 loss to Vegas on Oct. 15, has scored in back-to-back contests and recorded a point in all but two games this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, TVA, AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (8-3-0): Reilly Smith snapped a three-game point drought by scoring twice against New York to double his season goal total. The 26-year-old Toronto native has recorded seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last six games, but was held off the scoresheet in his previous encounter versus his former team. Fellow forward Jonathan Marchessault set up a pair of tallies against the Rangers to push his point total to six (three goals, three assists) in a five-game stretch, although he did not play in the first meeting with Boston due to a lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (4-3-3): Forward David Backes will undergo surgery on his colon on Thursday and is expected to be sidelined two months, the team announced Wednesday. "The decision to have surgery was made in consultation with team physicians as well as outside specialists in the management of diverticulitis," team internist Dr. David Finn said in a statement. "David's episode of diverticulitis at the beginning of the season was his second episode in two months and was complicated with an abscess (collection of infection adjacent to the colon) that required drainage. Repeated episodes, like what David experienced, have a very high likelihood of recurrence in the near term, which is why he was advised to have surgery to remove the area of colon causing the problem." Backes, 33, has posted one assist in five games this season.
OVERTIME
1. Boston has scored seven power-play goals in its last five games after going 0-for-3 with the man advantage versus Vegas.
2. Golden Knights C Oscar Lindberg, who tallied against the Bruins, has two goals in his last three outings.
3. Boston LW David Pastrnak, who scored in the first meeting with Vegas, has recorded four multi-point performances in his last seven games.