Boston @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) Boston 3, Vegas 2

Despite losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, there has been no hangover for the Boston Bruins, who opened the season with a pair of one-goal victories while allowing a single tally. Another rugged test awaits the Bruins as they continue their season-opening four-game road trip with a visit to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

Boston has scored only three times in wins at Dallas and Arizona but no one was complaining after a 2-0-0 start on the road. "We've got to keep improving and keep communicating and finding each other," center Patrice Bergeron said following Saturday's 1-0 victory over the Coyotes. "It's a big win, it's not easy to win in this league. We'll take it on the road." Scoring has not been been an issue for the Golden Knights, who piled up nine goals in completing a home-and-home sweep of San Jose and are welcoming the challenge from the Bruins. “It’ll be a tough game, but if we stick to how we play and if we try to keep our pace high and get our transition game going, I think we should be fine,” forward Reilly Smith said.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN-Plus, NESN (Boston), AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain (Las Vegas)

ABOUT THE BRUINS (2-0-0): Boston's top line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were among the league's most potent units last season, combining for 108 goals, but they have managed only two points thus far. "We still didn't play the way we can. It's early in the year," said Marchand, who had the lone goal against Arizona. "We're a little rusty, we have to be better than we've been. ... We've got to continue to improve." No. 2 center David Krejci made his season debut against Arizona and had one shot on goal in just under 16 minutes.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (2-0-0): While Vegas has been one of the best offensive clubs in the first week, it also scored a pair of short-handed tallies in Friday's 5-1 throttling in San Jose. The Golden Knights' top penalty killers, Smith and William Karlsson, also play on the team's top line and are the main reason Vegas has snuffed out all 10 short-handed situations. “It’s nice to be able to play with him,” Smith said of Karlsson. “We try to create a lot of scoring opportunities on the penalty kill and make it tough on them.”

OVERTIME

1. Golden Knights G Marc-Andre Fleury is 12-7-5 with a 2.41 goals-against average versus the Bruins.

2. Boston has won three of four career meetings with Vegas, allowing a total of seven goals.

3. Vegas leading scorer Mark Stone had a goal and two assists in three games versus Boston last season.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 3, Bruins 2