10:39 PM ET
ESPN News Services
BOSTON -- The Vegas Golden Knights made erstwhile Boston manager Bruce Cassidy's instrumentality a success, arsenic Reilly Smith scored successful the 5th circular of the shootout to bushed the Bruins 4-3 and extremity their NHL grounds for location victories to unfastened a play astatine 14 games Monday night.
The 57-year-old Cassidy was fired by Boston pursuing 5½ seasons successful June aft the Bruins were eliminated by Carolina successful the opening circular of the playoffs. Eight days aft helium was fto go, helium was hired by Vegas.
In a matchup of 2 of the league's apical 3 teams, Western Conference-leading Vegas opened a 3-0 pb aboriginal successful the 2nd play connected 2 goals by Paul Cotter and the different by Jonathan Marchessault. It was the archetypal clip the Bruins allowed the opening 3 goals of a crippled this season.
But the Bruins started their comeback erstwhile Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak scored conscionable implicit six minutes isolated precocious successful the period. They tied it connected Taylor Hall's power-play extremity 3:08 into the 3rd erstwhile helium spun successful beforehand and slipped a changeable from the slot past goalie Logan Thompson.
Smith had the lone people successful the shootout, slipping a forehand changeable past Jeremy Swayman.
It was Vegas' 14th roadworthy triumph of season, tied with the Dallas Stars for astir successful the West.
Cassidy took implicit arsenic Boston's interim manager connected Feb. 7, 2016, earlier getting the apical occupation that April. His teams made the playoffs each six seasons, including a travel to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final erstwhile they mislaid the seventh crippled astatine location against St. Louis.
The Bruins played a video montage of Cassidy connected the Jumbotron precocious successful the opening play that ended with a representation of him and said: ``Welcome back, Bruce.'' The assemblage gave him a bully ovation and helium waved thanking them.
The Bruins' home-opening streak broke the grounds of 11 that was acceptable by the 1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks and equaled by the Florida Panthers past season.
Before the shootout, Thompson made 40 saves. Boston's backup netminder Swayman had 21.
Cotter collected William Karlsson's walk wrong the near ellipse and unloaded a wrister nether the crossbar 1:36 into the game. Marchessault stole Pastrnak's attempted clearing pass, broke successful unsocial and tucked successful his ain rebound to marque it 2-0.
Cotter's 2nd came 51 seconds into the 2nd play erstwhile helium slipped a wrister past Swayman's glove.
Information from The Associated Press was utilized successful this report.
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