Final, Canucks 6-2: The game just came to a merciful end for the Bruins, as the final horn sounds on a 6-2 Bruins loss.
The loss is Boston’s sole setback on the four-game road trip and they’ll head home to take on Calgary on Tuesday at TD Garden.
Third period, 16:43, Canucks 6-2: There haven’t been many bright spots for the Bruins in this game, but Reilly Smith has been one of them.
He just scored his second goal of the game, as he cleaned up the garbage in front and beat Roberto Luongo with a backhanded second-chance shot to cut the lead to four.
Third period, 15:00, Canucks 6-1: It’s been about five minutes since the Canucks scored a goal, so that’s some sort of a victory for the Bruins, who are only going to be able to count on moral victories in this one.
At this point, you just have to try and get out of town healthy or at least relatively speaking.
Third period, 10:34, Canucks 6-1: The rout is certainly on.
Christopher Tanev just scored a shorthanded goal, as he and Mike Santorelli worked a 2-on-2 break to perfection. Santorelli carried the puck in and then waited for Tanev to beat the race to the spot and hit him with a tape-to-tape pass that he buried behind Chad Johnson.
Third period, 10:25, Canucks 5-1: The Bruins are getting a power play again.
Ryan Stanton was just called for boarding, as he crunched Nick Johnson deep in the Vancouver zone. It was a questionable call to say the least, as Johnson started to turn and put himself in an awkward position before Stanton hit him.
Regardless, the B’s get the man-advantage.
Third period, 6:40, Canucks 5-1: The Bruins were not able to score on the power play, despite a scoring chance from Brad Marchand late in the man-advantage.
We’ve officially reached the “playing out the string” portion of our evening.
Third period, 4:36, Canucks 5-1:Â The Bruins are going on the power play, thanks to a Brad Richardson hooking penalty.
Third period, 4:02, Canucks 5-1: And it’s just about over, despite the fact that there are still 16 minutes to play.
Henrik Sedin just made the extra penalty to Jarome Iginla hurt on the scoreboard. Chad Johnson made the initial save on a Vancouver shot, but Sedin was waiting on the left wing, and he beat Johnson with the second-chance attempt to make it a four-goal lead.
Third period, 3:33, Canucks 4-1: Things are starting to get really chippy, and we still have about 17 minutes to play.
Jarome Iginla just got tangled up with Dan Hamhuis after a play, and they started to trade some gloved punches as the linesmen came in to try and break things up. When it was all said and done, Iginla got the extra penalty, and the Bruins will have to kill off the penalty trailing by three.
Third period, 1:34, Canucks 4-1: And things just got much more difficult for the Bruins.
Yannick Weber just scored from just inside the blue line by beating Tuukka Rask to the blocker side to give Vancouver a three-goal lead.
Chad Johnson will now replace Tuukka Rask in net for the Bruins.
Third period, 0:01, Canucks 3-1: The third period is underway with the Bruins trying to come from behind and finish off what would be a perfect road trip.
End second period, Canucks 3-1: The second period just came to an end, and the Bruins are going to have some work to do in the final period of the game.
They’re down 3-1 after 40 minutes with shots tied 22-22 after two periods.
Second period, 18:00, Canucks 3-1: Reilly Smith continues to play well and just came close to potting his second goal.
Brad Marchand fed Smith a pass from behind the Vancouver net, and Smith ripped one on net, but he ended up hitting the crossbar.
Second period, 15:40, Canucks 3-1: Mike Santorelli came real close to giving Vancouver a 4-1 lead.
He missed the net with a really good chance deep in the Boston zone, as that line continues to buzz and has the Bruins hemmed in.
Second period, 13:18, Canucks 3-1: Finally some life from the Bruins who had gone dormant after tying the game early in the period.
Ryan Spooner bolted into the zone with a head of steam, and he tried to put a shot on goal from the right wing, but the shot was stopped. The deflection came into the slot where Carl Soderberg eventually picked it up. His second-chance shot was blocked and went straight up in the air. He tried to glove the puck, but he was hit while reaching for it, and that ended up resulting in a hand pass.
Second period, 8:46, Canucks 3-1: The Canucks were real sloppy to start the second period, but they’re feeling it now.
Chris Higgins just made it 3-1 by putting home a second-chance opportunity after the Canucks absolutely outworked the Bruins’ first line as well as the defensive pairing of Torey Krug and Dennis Seidenberg.
The Bruins were guilty of too much puck-watching in front of the net and Higgins was there to get to the loose puck and beat Tuukka Rask.
Second period, 5:31, Canucks 2-1: John Tortorella called a timeout following the Reilly Smith goal and just tore his team apart. It paid off apparently.
David Booth just beat Tuukka Rask with a wicked wrist shot that beat the goalie glove side and give Vancouver the 2-1 lead.
It took them only 1:20 to respond to the Bruins’ first goal.
Second period, 4:11, 1-1: What can you say about Reilly Smith that hasn’t been said already?
The Bruins forward continued his incredible seasons with another really pretty goal. He took advantage of a Vancouver turnover in the neutral zone, and sprinted into the offensive zone to grab the loose puck. A defenseman got back to try and break up the play, but Smith shielded the D-man with his body before beating Roberto Luongo with a backhander.
Second period, 0:01, Canucks 1-0:Â The second period is underway in Vancouver with the Bruins trying to even the score.
Boston played a pretty solid first period, and the only reason they’re playing catch-up is a fluky goal.
Jarome Iginla is back on the ice, too.
End first period, Canucks 1-0: The Bruins were able to possess the puck in the attacking zone on the power play, but they couldn’t get anything by Roberto Luongo, thanks to a couple of blocked shots and a save from Luongo on Ryan Spooner.
First period, 18:01, Canucks 1-0: The Bruins are going to get a chance to tie it on the power play.
David Booth just tripped Patrice Bergeron behind the Boston net, and Booth will go to the box for tripping.
First period, 16:37, Canucks 1-0: The Canucks have the game’s first lead on the weirdest goal we’ve seen this season.
Jannik Hansen carried the puck through the neutral zone and after gaining the red line he just hammered it in at the Boston net. The puck, which might have deflected off of Zdeno Chara’s stick, dipped as soon as it got to Tuukka Rask and ended up beating Rask five-hole for the game’s first goal.
First period, 15:35, 0-0: It looks like Jarome Iginla might end up being added to the list of injured Bruins.
He’s yet to return to the ice after an early fight with Ryan Kesler, and we might know why now. It certainly looked as if Iginla broke or dislocated a finger, according to some pictures circulating around Twitter right now.
First period, 14:30, 0-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the Daivd Krejci penalty, despite some good pressure from the Canucks in the attacking zone.
First period, 11:56, 0-0: The first power play of the evening will belong to the Canucks.
David Krejci was just called for hooking, and the Canucks get the man-advantage.
First period, 10:46, 0-0: Roberto Luongo looks sharp early on, and he just made his best save combination in the first half of the first period.
Luongo stopped a Reilly Smith from the slot, but the goalie couldn’t control the rebound. That’s where Patrice Bergeron jumped on it, and that was stopped but another rebound went to Brad Marchand. He wasn’t able to score from in close before Luongo covered it up.
First period, 6:24, 0-0:Â Welcome to the rivalry, Jarome Iginla.
The Bruins forward just walloped Ryan Kesler with a fight in the Vancouver zone, and they quickly dropped the gloves. It was a quick fight that was broken up when Iginla pulled Kesler’s sweater over his head.
Iginla went down the tunnel immediately following the fight and looked to be favoring his left hand. We’ll have to keep an eye on that.
First period, 6:04, 0-0: Tuukka Rask was just tested for the first time in this one, and he looked pretty sharp facing a couple of shots from Dan Hamhuis.
Hamhuis was able to get a shot off from above the faceoff dot on the left wing, and he followed his own shot where he got a rebound chance. He ended up putting that on net, but Rask was able to make a relatively easy save.
Shots are tied 4-4 through the fist six-plus minutes.
First period, 4:00, 0-0:Â A lot of feeling out going on here in the opening moments.
The Bruins’ first line did have a very good first shift that featured plenty of impressive puck movement but only produced one shot. That line looks like it’s got some good jump to begin this game.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: For the first time in almost two years, the Bruins and Canucks are playing each other. The game is on in Vancouver.
9:40 p.m.: As expected, Reilly Smith is on the ice despite battling the flu; it’s not like he had any other choice really.
The Bruins, according to pregame warmups, appear to be going with the same lineup they used Thursday in Edmonton.
Here are the projected lines and defensive pairs for the Bruins via the pregame line rushes.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg — Ryan Spooner — Matt Fraser
Jordan Caron — Gregory Campbell — Nick Johnson
Zdeno Chara — Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg — Torey Krug
Matt Barktowski — Kevan Miller
9:33 p.m.: The pregame warmups are underway in Vancouver, and Tuukka Rask led the Bruins out, so he’ll be back in the lineup after missing Thursday’s game with the flu.
9:20 p.m.: The Bruins and Canucks are meeting for just the second time since the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, as you may have heard by now.
However, the rosters will look much different than they did in 2011 or even in the 2012 rematch in Boston. Just eight Canucks who played in that Cup Final will be in the lineup Saturday night in Vancouver. On the other side, there will be 10 leftover Bruins playing.
That will hopefully be just enough to keep the rivalry red-hot, though.
6:20 p.m.: The flu bug continues to make its way through the Bruins’ dressing room, and it appears as if Reilly Smith is the latest victim.
Smith missed morning skate in Vancouver, and Bruins coach Claude Julien confirmed the winger missed the session because he was feeling under the weather. However, Smith intends to play Saturday night against the Canucks, despite being sick.
In other Bruins news, Shawn Thornton has been suspended 15 games for attacking Brooks Oprik in a game that happened exactly one week ago tonight. The Bruins and Thornton released vague statements essentially giving no comment, but it sounds as if Thornton might be contemplating an appeal of the 15-game ban.
1 p.m: It’s been almost exactly 30 months since the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in Vancouver, and the B’s will return to the scene of the crime for the first time on Saturday night.
Boston will take on the Canucks in Vancouver for the first time since winning Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final on enemy ice. It will be just the two teams’ second meeting since that spirited Cup Final. They met the January following the Cup Final in Boston in what was a wild, fight-filled affair that Vancouver ended up winning.
A lot of has changed on both sides of the ice since then, but one fact remains: Boston and Vancouver are still among the league’s top teams. The Bruins come in with an Eastern Conference-leading 46 points in 32 games, while the Canucks are doing all they can to keep pace in the ever-competitive Pacific Division with 43 points in 34 games.
The Bruins, although banged up, will be the more rested team Saturday night. The Canucks are coming off of a convincing 4-0 win Friday night in Vancouver where Roberto Luongo had a 19-save shutout against their divisional opponent. Luongo will make his second start in as many nights, as he will get the nod against the Bruins. It will be his first appearance against Boston since the 2011 Cup Final, as it was Cory Schneider who started the rematch on Jan. 7, 2012.
Boston comes in riding a four-game winning streak and is looking to cap off a perfect four-game road trip through Canada. The B’s beat the Oilers 4-2 on Thursday night after wins in Toronto and Calgary to start the trip. Since being wiped out by Detroit on Thanksgiving Eve, the Bruins have bounced back to go 6-1-0 over that time.
None of that will likely matter Saturday night in a game that will be billed as another grudge match between two teams that have a reputation for not liking each other. However, many of the parties involved from both sides have either moved on to new organizations (including former Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault) or will miss Saturday night’s game due to injury or supplemental discipline.
“I think it’s been made a bigger deal outside this locker room than what it really is,”Luongo said, according to NHL.com. “Obviously it’s a fun game, there is a history there, but that’s where it stops for this group, I think. There’s not much we can do about two years ago.”
That probably won’t stop anyone from thinking or talk about it, though, and regardless of that storyline, this matchup between two top-tier teams should be a fun one.
Puck drop from Rogers Arena is set for 10 p.m. ET.
