Bruins send Golden Knights to third loss in a row
BOSTON -- Sean Kuraly scored his first regular-season goal midway through the third period and Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots to lead the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
The loss was the third straight for the expansion team (8-4-0), who settled for a 1-1 split with the Bruins in their first season series.
Kuraly, playing in his 19th regular-season game, stuffed a rebound past Maxime Lagace at 9:53 of the third period to snap a 1-1 tie.
Rask ended his five-game losing streak in helping the Bruins, sloppy at time in front of their own net, raise their record to 5-3-3 (1-1-3 in the last five games).
Riley Nash also scored his first goal of the season for Boston, Torey Krug assisted on both goals.
Cody Eakin scored for the Golden Knights.
Lagace, the fourth Vegas goalie this season, made 26 saves but lost for the third time in four nights on a six-game road trip -- the last two starts his first two in the NHL.
Nash hit the post behind a scrambling Lagace, but the puck came right back to him. He got it back from Austin Czarnik and scored his first goal in 23 games dating to last season (including playoffs) 3:24 into the second period.
But Nate Schmidt picked Jake DeBrusk's pocket as the Bruins rookie tried to carry the puck out of his zone and got it to an unguarded Eakin, who beat Rask to tie it at 9:34.
The Knights almost took the lead later in the period when Rask had a shot climb over his shoulder and drop down in the crease close to the goal line. But defenseman Paul Postma swept it away before Tomas Nosek could stuff it home.
NOTES: With C David Backes placed on IR with colon surgery and C David Krejci still out with a back injury, C Austin Czarnik and RW Jordan Szwarz were summoned from Providence, as was G Zane McIntyre because of Anton Khudobin's lower body injury. Czarnik had an assist. ... The Bruins turned out the TD Garden lights for a moment of silence for the New York terror victims. ... Former Bruins D Colin Miller had a six-game points streak snapped. ... D Shea Theodore was among three healthy Knights scratches. ... The Bruins are 71-18-9-1 against expansion teams in their first seasons since the league added six teams in 1967. ... The Knights are at Ottawa for a Saturday matinee and the Bruins host the Washington Capitals Saturday.