Golden Knights Postgame: VGK Win Big For Cassidy Without Eichel, Pietrangelo

It was an action-packed 60+ minute game between the two best teams in the league Monday night as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Boston Bruins in a shootout 4-3. We have plenty to talk about, so let's just jump right in.

Golden Knights Takeaways

Slaying the Bruin Wounded

The Golden Knights have become the first team in the league to defeat the Bruins at home this season. They did so without two of their best players, Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo.

The NHL-leading Bruins are now 14-0-1 on home ice this season. They set an NHL record with the most home wins to start a season but now see their streak come to an end.

"I think the whole team built off of it. We know how good they are and how good they are at home, so for us to come in and take two points from them is a stepping stone and adds confidence for sure," said goaltender Logan Thompson.

For head coach Bruce Cassidy, the Bruins' home winning streak was just another number.

"The streak is irrelevant to me; it's just nice to come in and play well and win," said Cassidy.

Did it for Bruce

After 14 seasons in the Boston Bruins organization and six as head coach of the team, Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy made his return to TD Garden as a visitor Monday.

"It means a lot obviously when you plan your old teams you want to have a strong performance. Tonight it showed that we want to play for a guy like him. He has been great for us since he came in," said Golden Knight's forward Jonathan Marchessault.

The Golden Knights seem to up their game when matchups have a special significance to certain members of the team. The VGK won in Phil Kessel's Ironman game, Jack Eichel's return to Buffalo, Jonathan Marchessault's 500th career game, in Reilly Smith and Alec Martinez's 700th career games, and in Alex Pietrangelo's 900th NHL game, and now in Cassidy's return.

It goes to show how close the team is as they seem to elevate their play when certain milestone games are on the line.

Cassidy admitted he had some money on the line in this game and paid some of the team, thanking them for the win.

"They were happy; they got a little money from me. The Cassidy college fund went down a little bit, but I will gladly pay it," said Cassidy, who said that even Eichel put some money in the pot despite not playing.

Tiptop Thompson/Cool Cotter

Two players that got overshadowed by the Bruin's win streak coming to an end and Cassidy's return were Logan Thompson and Paul Cotter, who both had tremendous games Monday night.

Thompson stopped 40 of 43 shots and has made 40+ saves in his last two starts. He was great in the late parts of the game, especially in the Golden Knight's penalty kill in overtime.

"He's great; he's a gamer. He shows up in big games and has been great for us since he came in, and he works hard. He comes to every game and gives us a chance to win," said Jonathan Marchessault regarding Thompson.

For Cotter, he scored his first-ever multi-goal game at the NHL level and even got into it a little with Brad Marchand. Marchand usually goes after top players on opposing teams to try and get in their head. So for Cotter, this is essentially a compliment.

Another Lead Blown

The Golden Knights can feel good about their resilience and the fact that they walked away with a win for Cassidy. But it didn't come perfectly. For the third time in four games, the Golden Knights blew a multi-goal lead to a team on the road.

Penalty trouble got the Bruins a 5-on-3 powerplay in which they scored the game-tying goal.

"Honestly, that period (3rd) needed to end. We came back and kept our composure," said Marchessault.

More penalty trouble followed in overtime, with Nicolas Roy going off and the VGK being forced to kill 3-on-4.

"There were a couple of calls we had to play through, manage, keep our emotions in check, and get back into the game," said Cassidy.

Cleaning up their game in the second period and beyond and being able to counter the team's responses will be an area the Golden Knights will want to focus on. They will play next on Wednesday against the New York Rangers at home at 7:00 p.m.