Game Preview: Golden Knights @ Bruins 12/5/22

How To Watch: ATTSN-RM, NESN, ESPN+

When: 7:00 PM Eastern

Monday night hockey sees two of the biggest juggernauts in the NHL this season come together in a heavyweight showdown for quarter-mark bragging rights. The third-ranked Vegas Golden Knights will take on the second-place Boston Bruins on the road, with Vegas looking to improve its 2-5-1 record against the Bruins all time. It’s the biggest test of the season so far for the Golden Knights, who are currently holding a narrow four-point lead in the Pacific division with an 18-7-1 record. Boston also sits atop the standings in the Atlantic division, with a 20-3-0 record. This clash of the titans comes with personal vendettas, as Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy returns to Boston for the first time, six months after his firing. It’s sure to be an intense battle and a preview for what could be a potential matchup later in the postseason.

Game Preview: Vegas @ Boston

The Golden Knights pulled off a solid 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night, a much-needed decisive win following a disappointing stretch that saw the Golden Knights drop three out of four games. They’ve salvaged a 2-1 record on the road trip so far and will want to close out the travel with another win against Boston. Jack Eichel found the back of the net just 64 seconds into the game, the second time in as many games that the centerman has scored in the first four minutes to put the Golden Knights ahead early. The power play struck again for Vegas, as Jonathan Marchessault put one home in the second period. Phil Kessel and Reilly Smith closed out the win for Vegas, with Kessel scoring on a breakaway out of the box, and Smith sealing it with an empty-netter.

Home Team Advantage

With the win against Detroit, Vegas improved to 11-2 on the road this season, which is the best away record in team history. However, the Bruins have been even better at home. Boston has started 14-0-0 at home, still undefeated in TD Garden a quarter of the way through the season. If anyone is going to have an advantage over Boston on their home ice, it’s the Golden Knights. They’ve beaten every team they’ve faced from the Atlantic division, going 7-0-0 this season due to Head Coach Bruce Cassidy’s knowledge and understanding of each team. After six seasons in Boston, Cassidy is intimately familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of this Bruins team. Look for Cassidy to have his own version of a revenge game, attempting to give the Bruins their first loss on home ice.

Goaltending Tandems

One of the biggest concerns for Vegas coming into this season was goaltending. The tandem of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill have risen to the occasion, with Thompson recording twelve wins and a .920 save percentage, and Hill with six wins and a .908 save percentage. Thompson’s twelve wins are second in the league, falling only slightly short of Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark’s fourteen. The duo of Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have also been one of the top tandems in the league, with Ullmark posting a .936 save percentage and Swayman at a .902. All four goaltenders are relatively young, fighting to prove themselves as genuine NHL talents, so whoever starts in the net will be pushing themselves to the limits against some of the best shooting talents in the league.

Injuries and Line-up Changes

While the Golden Knights have managed to avoid the injury-riddled lineups of last season, there could be some large holes to fill tonight. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will miss his fourth straight game due to personal issues while leading goal scorer Jack Eichel is also questionable to play after leaving the ice in the third period against Detroit with an apparent lower-body injury. Eichel skated in morning practice with the rest of the team, but coach Bruce Cassidy said that he “didn’t feel great” and will be a game-time decision.

Daniil Miromanov is the probable replacement for Pietrangelo after slotting into the roster for his first game this season against Detroit, and Nicolas Roy will likely slide up the lineup to fill Eichel’s role on the first line. Boston is expected to play with a healthy lineup, making Vegas’ job that much more difficult.