Jack Eichel, Golden Knights Visit Bruins Tonight

Jack Eichel leads the Vegas Golden Knights with 20 points, and tonight he gets to do it in front of his hometown crowd. Vegas visits the Boston Bruins at TD Garden at 4 PM PT (7 PM ET), in what ESPN called Monday's marquee NHL matchup.

It is the defending Western Conference champs against the current Atlantic Division leaders, in the first meeting of the season between the two clubs. Boston is 10-4-1 and Vegas is 9-5-1, so this one has a real early-season measuring-stick feel.

Eichel Comes Home

Eichel grew up in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and played at Boston University, so this is a homecoming. Defenseman Noah Hanifin, who is from Boston and played at Boston College, gets one too.

Eichel has always shown up against the Bruins. He has nine goals and 15 assists in 22 career games against Boston with Buffalo and Vegas, per ESPN. This season he has 13 assists among his team-leading 20 points, while Mark Stone leads Vegas with nine goals.

Mitch Marner has been the set-up man lately, with one goal and 11 assists over his last 10 games, the AP preview noted. Vegas is 8-1-0 when it scores three or more goals.

The Bruins Are Rolling

Boston is 7-2-1 in its last 10 and comes in off a 5-4 overtime win in Chicago on Saturday. The Bruins are 5-1-0 at home and a perfect 9-0-0 when they score three or more goals.

David Pastrnak leads the team with eight goals, 11 assists and 19 points. The other big reason for the hot start is in net. Behind Jeremy Swayman, Boston is allowing the fourth-fewest goals per game in the league at 2.40, per ESPN.

That sets up a fun subplot: Swayman was Eichel's and Hanifin's Olympic teammate, and now he is the guy standing between them and a hometown win.

Who Is Missing

Boston listed no injuries for this one. Vegas will be without defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (upper body) and forwards Victor Olofsson and Kai Uchacz (both undisclosed), per the AP preview.

The Golden Knights are 3-2-1 on the road and 5-4-1 in their last 10, so a win in Boston would be a nice jolt for a team that has been up and down.

The Smacktok Pick

Eichel is the Vegas points leader and has 24 points in 22 career games against Boston. Lean Eichel to record at least one point tonight. On the Boston side, Pastrnak has six goals and seven assists in his last 10 games, so lean higher on his points too.

Hometown kid, TD Garden, first-place Bruins. Eichel has been waiting for nights like this his whole life.