LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pavel Dorofeyev scored three times for his second career hat trick and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the skidding Boston Bruins 5-1 on Thursday night.

Dorofeyev’s first hat trick came in a 5-3 loss at Nashville on Jan. 14.

Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev also scored for Vegas, which extended its Pacific Division lead to three points over Edmonton. Adin Hill made 18 saves.

Hill came close to his fifth shutout this season, but Morgan Geekie scored his 24th goal for Boston with 2:11 left.

Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots for the Bruins, who lost their fourth in a row. With 12 games remaining, the Bruins are five points back of the second wild-card slot in the Eastern Conference.

Dorofeyev nets 2nd hat trick this season as Golden Knights beat slumping Bruins 5-1 | iNFOnews.ca — Vegas Golden Knights left wing Brandon Saad (20) skates past Boston Bruins center John Beecher (19) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Takeaways

Bruins: Boston managed just 19 shots and was outshot for the fifth straight game. Over their last five, the Bruins have averaged 20 shots on goal.

Golden Knights: William Karlsson returned to the lineup after missing two months with a lower-body injury. Karlsson had an assist and played 20 shifts for a total of 15:57 on the ice.

Key moment

Boston’s Nikita Zadorov took a slashing penalty 8:15 into the second period and the Golden Knights capitalized with the NHL’s second-best power play when Dorofeyev gave Vegas a 1-0 lead.