Golden Knights get first home win of the season by overwhelming Bruins offensively

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid (40) makes a save against the Boston Bruins during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. Photo by: ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Golden Knights hoped a strong defensive effort in front of backup goalie Akira Schmid playing in his second straight game could lead them to victory Thursday night against the Boston Bruins in their second home game of the year.

That didn’t happen; they had to settle for once again flexing their offensive firepower to pick up a win. Vegas defeated Boston 6-5 to improve to 3-0-2 through the first week of the year on a packed “Emo Night” at T-Mobile Arena.

Original Golden Knight William Karlsson scored twice in a row, notching both shorthanded and power-play goals,  during a four-minute stretch of game time from the end of the second period to the start of the third.

That gave Vegas a commanding 6-3 lead, but Boston refused to back down. Depth wingers Mark Kastelic and Michael Eyssimont ripped back-to-back shots high over Schmid in just over a minute to cut the Bruins’ deficit down to one and keep the game close for the final 16 minutes.

Schmid was far from stellar, facing only 24 shots on goal, but the Bruins got too many chances right in front of him where the Golden Knights’ skaters didn’t do enough to support a goalie pressed into more early-season action than anticipated.

Vegas starter Adin Hill left Tuesday’s win at the Calgary Flames with a lower-body injury in the first period, and the team decided to sit him as a precaution for one more game. Hill dressed for the game against the Bruins, and Cassidy said he was available to play.

The Golden Knights also controversially signed goalie Carter Hart, who was recently acquitted of sexual assault in a highly-publicized Canadian trail, earlier in the day but he won’t be eligible to play until Dec. 1.

On Thursday, Boston’s Tanner Jeannot got the scoring started two minutes into the game by bullying Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud to plant himself in front of Schmid where he tapped in a rebound off a Charlie McAvoy wrister.

Vegas winger Mitch Marner helped the home team answer by setting Pavel Dorofeyev up on a breakaway with a laced breakout pass into the end zone. Dorofeyev finished for his NHL-leading sixth goal of the season.

Teammate Jack Eichel stayed hot on his tail, however, with a power-play goal for his fifth score of the season early in the third period to give Vegas its first lead.

Dorofeyev missed another high-danger chance set up by captain Mark Stone on the power play two minutes later, but Tomas Hertl cleaned up in front and scored on the rebound.

Hertl was unsure if he had gotten a stick on the loose puck, but replay confirmed his second goal of the season.

Confusion seemed to be a prevailing theme of the Golden Knights’ return home after a three-game road trip. Defensive breakdowns on both sides kept the goals flowing and the crowd engaged as they participated in sing-alongs to hits from early 2000 artists like My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard and The Used (which did the honorary siren crank to start the game).  

The atmosphere was so festive ahead of this weekend’s When We Were Young festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds that even the usual one-goal suspense down the stretch of the game felt minimized.

It helped that the Golden Knights finally shored up most of their defensive shortcomings, and protected Schmid from facing many grade-A chances.

The Bruins rarely did the same the whole night as the Golden Knights racked up 37 shots on goalie Jeremy Swayman and often skated circles around the visitors.

It’s not how they envisioned winning a second straight game for the first time this season, but it worked out all the same.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more coverage.