The Vegas Golden Knights made Bruce Cassidy’s return to Boston memorable with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Bruins on Monday night, ending Boston’s NHL-record home winning streak to start a season at 14 games.
Cassidy, 57, coached the Bruins for 5 ½ seasons before being fired in June. His new team triumphed, with Reilly Smith scoring in the fifth shootout round. Just over a week after his departure from Boston, Vegas hired Cassidy.
In a clash between two of the league’s top teams, Western conference-leading Vegas took a 3-0 lead early in the second period with two goals from Paul Cotter and one from Jonathan Marchessault. The Bruins mounted a comeback with goals from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak within six minutes late in the period. Taylor Hall tied the game 3:08 into the third period with a power-play goal.
Smith’s forehand shot past Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman in the shootout was the only score. Logan Thompson made 40 saves for Vegas, while Swayman stopped 21 shots for Boston.
Cassidy, who guided the Bruins to the playoffs in all six seasons, including a trip to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, was relieved to avoid hearing “Dirty Water,” the victory song at TD Garden.
“Now that you brought it up, I’m used to hearing ‘Dirty Water’ at the end of the game,” Cassidy said with a smile. “I’m glad I didn’t hear it tonight. The streak is irrelevant to me. It’s nice to come in and play well.”
Boston lost for just the second time in 12 games.
“This locker room sticks together, and we knew we were going to do something special tonight,” Swayman said. “It (stinks) losing, but we’re going to make sure we fix the problems.”
The Bruins’ 14-game home streak broke the previous record of 11, set by the 1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks and matched by the Florida Panthers last season.
Thompson praised Cassidy’s motivation for the game. “This city meant a lot to him, and he was fired up and ready to go,” Thompson said. “We went out there and tried to get him two points tonight.”
Cotter opened the scoring 1:36 into the game with a wrister off William Karlsson’s pass. Marchessault made it 2-0 by stealing Pastrnak’s attempted clearing pass and tucking in his own rebound. Cotter’s second goal came 51 seconds into the second period.
“We couldn’t get it done early, before the shootout. We had chances,” Pastrnak said. “It’s a tough one to swallow.”
Vegas star forward Jack Eichel missed the game with a lower-body injury.
Tribute to Cassidy
The Bruins honored Cassidy with a video montage on the Jumbotron late in the first period, ending with a message: “Welcome back, Bruce.” The crowd gave him a warm ovation, and Cassidy acknowledged it with a wave.
“It’s a really nice gesture by the Bruins’ organization,” Cassidy said. “I appreciate it. I said all along that I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I’m thankful they did it.”
Records and Milestones
Cassidy finished tied for third on the Bruins’ all-time coaching wins list with Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt (1955-66) at 245 victories, behind Claude Julien (419 wins) and Art Ross (387 wins).
Special Teams
The Bruins entered the game with the second-best power play (29.6%) and penalty kill (84.1%) in the league.
Up Next
Golden Knights: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
Bruins: At the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
