Bruins Wrap: Morgan Geekie’s Hat Trick Lifts Boston Over Vegas

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins defeated the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in a barnburner game, 5-4, at TD Garden on Thursday night.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 35-12-14, while the Golden Knights fell to 33-20-7.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Mason Lohrei broke the 4-4 tie with 4:37 remaining in the game to snap the Bruins’ three-game overtime losing skid.

Boston’s bottom six forwards got things going with a trio of goals spanning 2:20 in the opening frame. Morgan Geekie and Jesper Bovqist gave Boston the 3-0 lead with Geekie scoring his 11th and 12th tallies of the season and Boqvist notching his fourth of the season.

Vegas battled its way back, cutting the lead to one with goals by Paul Cotter and Alex Pietrangelo before Geekie lit the lamp for his first career hat trick. The Golden Knights got within one just over a minute later when Michael Amadio scored his 11th of the season.

It looked like the Bruins were headed for a seventh straight overtime when Chandler Stephenson scored a shorthanded tally in the third, but Lohrei gave the Bruins the lead with a late power-play goal from Kevin Shattenkirk and Charlie Coyle.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Geekie notched his first career hat trick with two goals in the first period and his third in the middle frame. Geekie now has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points this season.

— Lohrei notched the game-winner with 4:37 remaining in the third period on the power play.

— Boqvist lit the lamp for the fourth time this season in the second period to give the Bruins the 2-0 lead.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Geekie scoring the first goal of the game at +2300. The Bruins forward cleared those odds with his first of three goals on the night. A $100 wager would have netted a total of $2,400.

UP NEXT
The Bruins travel to New York to take on the Islanders at USB Arena on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action on NESN, following an hour of pregame coverage.