“It’s a lot of fun playing here,” said first-year Bruin Will Borgen. “The noise when David went out for the last shootout, it was pretty crazy.”
The victory, Boston’s sixth straight on home ice, boosted the Black and Gold’s record to an Atlantic Division-leading 11-4-1 with 23 points.
Though the Bruins blew a 2-0 second-period lead, that factoid seemed to matter little when all was said and done — the excitement of their first shootout of the year erased that memory.
It was the 12th time Pastrnak has scored off Hart, including a pair of hat tricks — most notably his three-goal effort against Hart’s Flyers in the outdoor game in Lake Tahoe in 2021.
The Bruins built their 2-0 lead on a first-period goal from James Hagens and a power-play strike from Morgan Geekie in the second.
Mark Stone cut Vegas’ deficit in half with a power-play goal, and rookie Trevor Connelly evened it with his fifth of the season midway through the second.
From there, Swayman and Hart traded big saves until Pastrnak served up the winner.
Swayman stopped Connelly (left pad), Jack Eichel (blocker), and Mitch Marner (blocker to post). Hart denied Casey Mittelstadt (right pad) and Fraser Minten (five-hole stick save) before his nemesis came calling and sent everyone home happy.
Well, almost everyone.
Some other observations from the first of Boston’s nine home games this month:
Hagens heater: The winger got a jump start on his birthday celebration (he turns 20 Tuesday) with his sixth goal and 12th point of the season — both highs for rookies.
Hagens did not know he was atop those lists.
“Honestly, it’s been really fun just being here and being a part of this and that stuff doesn’t matter,” said Hagens. “When we win, you heard the building tonight. It was one of the best feelings in the world.
“And just to be around something like this, I think our culture kind of speaks to how we’re playing out there. It’s so much fun and I’m just really grateful to be here.”
Sibling rivalry: Geekie, who tends to score goals in bunches, connected for the second straight game and was asked if it was a harbinger of things to come.
“Honestly, I was just trying to catch my brother [Connor]. He’s got three in a row [for the Lightning],” said Geekie. “So, it doesn’t really cross my mind a whole lot. It’s obviously nice to see them go in, but I think for me, maybe it’s just a product of being in the right place at the right time.”
For the record, Morgan said another brother, Noah, takes care of monitoring the chop-busting texts between the three.
Triple trouble: Charlie McAvoy absorbed all three Boston penalties — an interference on Connelly, a hold on Marner, and an unsportsmanlike conduct.
McAvoy was already upset at the holding call but boiled over when Vegas scored eight seconds into the power play. On his way out of the box, McAvoy let the referees have it and was sent right back to the sin bin.
Marco Sturm was not happy with any aspect of the back-to-back calls.
“You know what? I didn’t like his first penalty, though. I didn’t like it. I was trying to get an answer from the refs, and I didn’t and I didn’t ask Charlie yet what happened on the second one, but that’s something he needs to control,” said Sturm.
“So that’s on him and especially already served the penalties or they scored. So, he’s got to be better than that for sure.”
Clean up: After a trio of sloppy games, the Bruins’ details were better, and they stuck to their structure against Vegas (9-5-2). They were more careful with the puck, and they limited the Knights’ quality chances.
Odds and ends: Matt Poitras left after absorbing a vicious elbow to the face in the first period from Braeden Bowman, who was given a five-minute major and game misconduct. Poitras bled profusely before going for repairs. Though he briefly returned with a bubble, he did not play any shifts after the hit. Sturm said he’d have an update Tuesday … Moments before Hagens’s goal, most in the building thought Nikita Zadorov had connected — but Hart (who has a perfect name for the Boston accent) made a nifty paddle save. “I thought he scored, too,” said Hagens … Vegas features Bay Staters Eichel (Chelmsford), Noah Hanifin (Norwood), and Marc Gatcomb (Woburn). Gatcomb’s dad, Marc Sr., is the Malden police chief … Boston plays Thursday in Pittsburgh, one of only two road games this month.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.
