The Vancouver Canucks arrived on the Garden on Thursday with the well-earned standing of a official Stanley Cup contender.
The Bruins – and, sure, their justifiable share of excellent luck – made their company seem like pretenders.
In a much-anticipated matchup of the highest group within the NHL (Vancouver) and second-place group (Boston), the B’s scored within the first minute of the sport and by no means regarded again, beating the Canucks 4-0.
Linus Ullmark made the saves when he needed to, however he wasn’t overly taxed in a 17-save shutout, his first of the season.
There was some hope there could be a number of the outdated Boston-Vancouver fireworks of the earlier decade when the groups staged one of many nice unhealthy blood Stanley Cup Finals in 2011. But, save for some early fang flashes, this one was over early.
The Bruins have been struggling on the penalty kill these days, but it surely was the PK that despatched them on their manner in opposition to the Canucks because it staked the B’s to a 2-0 first interval lead.
Fresh off a nasty efficiency in opposition to the Calgary Flames, the sport very briefly had that very same uh-oh feeling on the opening shift when Dakota Joshua acquired behind Parker Wotherspoon for a breakaway. Jakub Lauko caught as much as him and took an infraction – the B’s have been lucky Joshua wasn’t awarded a penalty shot – and Lauko went to the field simply 17 seconds into the sport.
But you’ll be able to put that within the “good penalty” file, as a result of the B’s scored their first shorty of the sport 15 seconds later. Charlie Coyle picked off a go alongside the best wall within the Vancouver zone and put the puck on web. Brad Marchand acquired the rebound off Thatcher Demko’s pad and lifted it over the previous Boston College netminder. That was Marchand’s twenty fifth of the season and thirty fifth profession shorthanded purpose, placing him within the high 10 of the NHL all-time shorthanded goalscorers.
Marchand and the Canucks’ J.T. Miller regarded like they needed to carry again the animosity of 2011 over again. First, the 2 gamers bumped into one another when going to their respective benches. After some pushing and shoving, each have been despatched off for roughing. Miller later took an interference penalty on a giant hit on Hampus Lindholm when the puck was nowhere close to him.
But that’s the place any significant hostilities ended.
The B’s didn’t make Miller pay for that on the ability play. But when David Pastrnak took an offensive zone tripping penalty, the B’s penalty kill struck once more at 15:37. This time, Coyle sprung Vancouver-area native Danton Heinen for a partial breakaway. Heinen used his physique to fend off Elias Pettersson, moved to his forehand and roofed it over Demko’s glove arm for his tenth of the season.
The B’s held a 11-4 shot benefit within the first.
With some luck, the B’s doubled the lead simply 49 seconds into the second interval.
The first one was an final fluky purpose. David Pastrnak loaded up for slapper however his stick exploded on contact. The puck pinballed across the slot space, hitting Morgan Geekie’s stick after which an off-balance Tyler Myers knocked it into his personal web 34 seconds into the interval. Geekie was credited together with his ninth of the season.
Then on the subsequent shift, James van Riemsdyk despatched Pavel Zacha in alone and Zacha notched his twelfth of the season.
Eventually, the Canucks pushed again somewhat bit. On one other Vancouver energy play, Linus Ullmark snatched a Miller tip that appeared destined for the higher nook. Later, Ullmark was the beneficiary of some good bounces, as soon as when a shot went between his pads and squirted large and one other time when it when couldn’t find a unfastened puck however Vancouver couldn’t jam it house earlier than he discovered it.
In the third interval, the B’s by no means gave the Canucks a sniff.
Source: www.bostonherald.com