The Bruins got the result they wanted Monday night, but James Hagens kept giving them something else: a reason to pay attention.
Boston outlasted the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in a shootout at TD Garden, with David Pastrnak burying the deciding attempt and Jeremy Swayman turning aside all three Vegas shooters. Still, the night also belonged to Hagens, who opened the scoring and gave the Bruins an early edge against a seasoned opponent.
Hagens struck at 7:23 of the first period to put Boston in front 1-0. Morgan Geekie later added a power-play goal to stretch the lead to two, and for a while the Bruins looked in control.
That early push fit the pattern Hagens has started to build. After Boston’s emotional overtime win over Chicago, he was back in the mix again Monday, adding another strong moment to a young season that’s starting to turn heads.
James Hagens is at it again. Six goals and 12 points in 16 games now. 1-0 Bruins. https://t.co/pS4vTIbXNB
- Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 3, 2026
The Bruins have leaned heavily on familiar names to get through the opening stretch. Pastrnak continues to drive the offense, and Geekie along with other veterans have chipped in key production. But Boston also needs its younger players to start carrying real weight, and Hagens is making that case one shift at a time.
His goal against Vegas came on the heels of another encouraging play against Chicago, when he helped create a scoring chance with an aggressive takeaway. That’s the kind of detail that matters for a young forward trying to win trust: he’s not only finishing plays, he’s helping create them.
Boston still had to sweat it out. Mark Stone scored on the power play for Vegas, and Trevor Connelly tied the game in the third period after the Bruins had let a two-goal cushion slip away. From there, Swayman and Pastrnak finished the job in the shootout.
The win moved Boston to 11-4-1, but it also served as a reminder that the Bruins still have some tightening up to do defensively. Even so, Hagens’ rise is becoming one of the more encouraging threads in the story.
The veterans can still close games. Now the younger group is starting to show it can help set them up, too.
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