Boston @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2018 ) Vegas 1, Boston 4

The Boston Bruins are enhancing their position in the Eastern Conference by beating up on teams from the West. The Bruins are riding a season-high six-game winning streak -- all against Western Conference opponents -- and have earned points in nine consecutive contests as they resume their five-game road trip with a visit to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

Boston squandered a three-goal lead before rallying for a late goal in regulation in Monday's 6-5 overtime victory at San Jose to keep the streak intact. "I mean, you never want to let up a big lead like we did, but those things happen in hockey," said defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who delivered the game-winning tally. "We never say die." The Golden Knights, who will kick off a four-game homestand against the Bruins, lost for the eighth time in 11 games in Monday's 3-0 loss at Colorado. "Just a reality check I guess," defenseman Jon Merrill said after the latest loss. "Now we go back home and get back to the drawing board and hope to get another win on Wednesday."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVAS

ABOUT THE BRUINS (35-17-8): Boston has managed to survive and thrive in the absence of 31-goal scorer David Pastrnak, netting 19 tallies in the four games since he was injured. The uptick in production has been boosted by scoring from the defensemen, who supplied three goals in Monday's win and have combined for four tallies and 11 points since Pastrnak was hurt. "You obviously don't replace a guy like Pasta with his scoring ability," McAvoy said. "I think you just fill it by committee and I think everyone is doing that. Just trying to be opportunistic with our chances and fortunate to see some of these go in."

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (32-25-4): Vegas sits comfortably in third place in the Pacific Division despite the recent slump, which included a franchise-record five-game home losing streak that was snapped in a 5-1 win over Nashville on Saturday. "I think that we're in a spot right now that we're in a little bit of limbo between the teams behind us and the teams in front of us," defenseman Nate Schmidt said. "I think it's got to come from in our room to make a push here and do something and not just limp in." Leading scorer Alex Tuch has been limited to two assists in nine games since the All-Star break.

OVERTIME

1. Bruins F Jake DeBrusk has nine points during a four-game goal streak.

2. Vegas G Marc-Andre Fleury is 12-7-4 with a 2.43 goals-against average versus the Bruins.

3. Boston backup G Jaroslav Halak, who earned the win in a 4-1 decision over Vegas in November, will get the start Wednesday.

PREDICTION: Bruins 3, Golden Knights 2