With two games remaining on their longest homestand of the season, the Vancouver Canucks will host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night for another Hockey Night in Canada game.
J.T. Miller got back to the Canucks’ lineup on Thursday night in their 4-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Miller picked up a pair of assists in his return and contributed to the power play going one-for-two on the night.
Kevin Lankinen picked up his third blank sheet of the season and moved into a tie with Connor Hellebuyck and Sam Montembeault for the league lead in shutouts.
The Canucks are now 10-0-3 when they carry a lead into the second intermission, and we now see the team carrying a 15-8-5 record.
Jake DeBrusk scored his 14th goal of the season which ranks him 17th in the league.
Quinn Hughes is now up to 34 points on the season and leads the NHL with 1.21 points per game from a defenceman.
The Bruins roll into Vancouver with a 15-13-3 record and have been 7-4-0 since they hired Joe Sacco as their head coach. They are currently on their longest road trip of the season and lost 8-1 to Winnipeg on Tuesday before falling 5-1 to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- Scoring first has been important on the road for the Bruins. They are 4-0-1 when they score first but 2-7-0 when the opposition gets the first goal.
- David Pastrnak leads the Bruins in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points. He also leads with four power play goals and is far above the rest of his team with 126 shots on net.
- Charlie McAvoy is the leading man of their defence corps. He is averaging 23:47 of ice time per game and has five goals through 31 games played.
- The Bruins are the lowest scoring third period team in the NHL and have been outscored 19-34 so far this season.
- Their power play is clicking at 12.6% and that ranks them last in the league.
- On the penalty kill, they have killed off 77.1% of their penalties and that puts them at 22nd in the NHL.
- Jeremy Swayman has started 21 of their 31 games this season. He has a 9-10-2 record with an .885% save percentage and a 3.27 goals-against average.
- Brad Marchand has had the hottest stick on the Bruins. Over their past 10 games, Marchand has seven goals.
The Story: Building on the Team’s Identity
Head coach Rick Tocchet liked how every player in the lineup contributed on Thursday night against the Panthers. He thought the defence corps was scrappy and believes that Thursday’s game was a good step in the right direction for the group.
We saw the fourth line on the ice for a pair of goals on Thursday and Max Sasson picked up the first multi-point game of his young NHL career. The Canucks have played 28 games and have 20 different players with a goal this season. Tocchet thought that the Sasson, Teddy Blueger, and Danton Heinen line was good, and the return of J.T. Miller helped slot everyone down the lineup.
Though Thursday night was a big win for the Canucks, Tocchet wants his team to stay even-keel and though they can enjoy the win, the focus needs to be on what is ahead of them.
“Adversity hit this team, and there’s been good stuff and bad stuff that has happened this year, and I like the fact that we’re seven games over .500%. We’re okay. We’ve got good players here. We are a good team, and we’ll find our game,” said Tocchet after Thursday’s game.
Tocchet wants to see his players continue to have a commitment to the play without the puck. With depth on the roster, the head coach believes that the internal competition is going to be big for the organization.
“There’s a rotation committee,” said Tocchet. “We have that luxury, and it keeps people on their toes. If you play well, you stay in. That’s what internal competition does.”
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Quinn Hughes: 2g-4a-6p
Brock Boeser: 2g-3a-5p
Elias Pettersson: 1g-4a-5p
Jake DeBrusk: 4g-0a-4p
Conor Garland: 0g-4a-4p
When and Where to Watch
Saturday night’s game is a 7 p.m. PT start, and you can watch it on Hockey Night in Canada or listen along to the radio call with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
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