The Boston Bruins have to be very thankful for their early 3-0 lead on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. The game was in hand after David Pastrnak made it 4-0 in the second period, and all Marco Sturm's team had to do was run the clock out on the third period. Unfortunately, the group took that literally and tried to sleepwalk their way to a win.
The Golden Knights quickly scored two goals at the start of the third period, knocking the Bruins back on their heels and putting the game's result seriously in doubt. Boston held on to win the game. Still, it wasn't without some anxiety-inducing moments for fans in the final minutes when they continued icing the puck and allowing the Golden Knights valuable offensive zone time.
David Pastrnak after the Bruins held on for a 4-3 win over Vegas after leading 4-0: “We definitely made some mistakes, but we didn’t stop playing.” pic.twitter.com/vpRwz7GrOZ
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) January 23, 2026
The Bruins proved a couple of things on Thursday night. They can bounce back after their ugly loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, and they outplayed one of the league's top teams for two periods. Whether or not you want to believe that Vegas had a sleepy start to the game after a tough schedule, and are looking ahead to an interesting night in Toronto on Friday, is your opinion. Nevertheless, a win is a win.
However, when watching the third period and seeing the five-person powerplay unit for the Golden Knights dominate, one thing was abundantly clear. Even though Boston is still in the thick of the playoff race, their roster is farther away from competing on a nightly basis with teams like the Golden Knights than some fans may think.
Vegas has a deep forward group and the ability to ice five elite forwards on their powerplay and empty-net units. Add Shea Theodore to the group that was out there with the goalie pulled, and the Bruins had no way of contending with them with their roster as currently constructed. They are fortunate that Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner's group didn't mount a heartbreaking comeback.
It's easy for the Bruins to catch a team when they're tired or when they're looking ahead to a big game. My concerns lie in how their roster will look when they face teams like the Golden Knights over a seven-game series, and whether it's worth being non-sellers at the trade deadline to find out what will happen in that situation.