Lohrei scores winner, Geekie nets hat trick, Bruins end 3-game slide with 5-4 win over Vegas
By BRENDAN McGAIR Associated Press
BOSTON - Mason Lohrei scored the winning goal on the power play with less than five minutes to play, Morgan Geekie had his first NHL hat trick, and the Boston Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Lohrei fired a one-timer from inside the right circle and the Bruins held on after surrendering leads of 3-0 and 4-2.
Jesper Boqvist also scored for Boston, which won for just the second time in regulation in February, while David Pastrnak had two assists to help complete a season sweep of the defending Stanley Cup champion. Jeremy Swayman had 32 saves.
Paul Cotter, Alex Pietrangelo, Michael Amadio and Chandler Stephenson scored for the Golden Knights and Adin Hill finished with 27 saves.
Geekie scored twice during Boston's three-goal outburst that covered 2:30 of the first period. The forward was the recipient of a spot-on pass from Trent Frederic before going top shelf for the game's first goal at 14:34. The scoring barrage continued with Boqvist beating Hill on the blocker side and Geekie finishing a 3-on-2 break.
The script flipped in the second as Vegas scored three times to make it a one-goal game heading into the third. Cotter swatted the puck past Swayman to get the Golden Knights on the board before Pietrangelo cut Boston's lead to 3-2.
Geekie's third goal restored Boston's two-goal cushion, when he redirected Pastrnak's shot. After the fans tossed hats on the ice, Vegas moved back to within one when Amadio popped in a loose puck to cap off a productive middle period that gave the visitors the momentum.
With Vegas looking to kill off Boston's first power-play chance of the game, Stephenson took advantage of some confusion on the Bruins' part near the blue line. His short-handed breakaway goal tied the game at 4-all with 15 minutes remaining.
Boston was in a 4-for-36 slump on the power play before Lohrei's tally that gave Jim Montgomery his 100th win as Boston's head coach.
The game was a homecoming for Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy, who led the Bruins for five seasons and took the franchise to the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals. Last year, he directed the Golden Knights to the Cup in his first season as the team's head coach.
UP NEXT
Golden Knights: At Buffalo on Saturday, the final game of a five-game road trip.
Bruins: At N.Y. Islanders on Saturday.
