Final, Bruins 3-1: That’s it, and that’s all.
The Bruins are able to get some revenge for December’s loss to the Canucks, and they get out of here with the 3-1 win.
Third period, 18:25, Bruins 3-1: The Vancouver net is empty.
Third period, 17:26, Bruins 3-1: Chris Kelly was just denied by Roberto Luongo on the doorstep.
Kelly took a backhanded saucer pass from Loui Eriksson and put it right on net, but the goalie was able to make the save.
Third period, 15:30, Bruins 3-1: Johnny Boychuk made a questionable decision to pinch at the Vancouver blue line, and the Canucks turned it into a rush the other way.
Jordan Schroeder ended up getting a shot from the left wing, but Tuukka Rask made his best save of the period to keep the two-goal lead intact.
Third period, 13:49, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins have killed off the penalty to Chris Kelly with no real issues, and we’re back to even strength.
Third period, 11:33, Bruins 3-1: The Canucks aren’t out of it yet, at least not technically, and they’ll get a power play to really make a game of things.
Chris Kelly was just called for hooking, and the Bruins will have to kill off the penalty in order to preserve the two-goal lead.
Third period, 10:53, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins have really put down the clamps here in the third period.
The B’s have the game’s last six shots on goal, and Vancouver hasn’t put a shot on goal in the last 7:00 of game time.
Third period, 7:29, Bruins 3-1: Johnny Boychuk has hit everything that has moved tonight, and David Booth is taking the worst of that.
Booth was just lit up by Boychuk with a huge hip check along the boards in the Boston end that went over pretty well with the home crowd.
Third period, 6:23, Bruins 3-1: The third period hasn’t inspired any hope in any sort of comeback from the Canucks.
The Bruins haven’t exactly dominated play here in the final period, but they have gotten the better of the puck possession battle in a big way. Boston has outshot Vancouver 5-2 in the opening minutes of the third, but neither team has yet to produce a real great scoring chance.
The Bruins will certainly take that, as that style of play certainly benefits them, especially with a two-goal lead.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 3-1: The third period is underway.
End second period, Bruins 3-1: The second period is over, and the Bruins will take a 3-1 lead to the dressing room.
Second period, 19:00, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins just missed putting up another goal. Brad Marchand got hold of a loose puck in front of the Vancouver net and flung a backhanded attempt at the net, but he hit the post.
Second period, 17:06, Bruins 3-1: Roberto Luongo’s issues continue.
The Bruins just took the 3-1 lead on a breakaway goal from Daniel Paille, as the B’s winger had just hopped off the bench. Paille had just stepped on the ice and was behind the defense when Johnny Boychuk hit him with a gorgeous pass through the neutral zone.
Paille walked in, put a move on Luongo and shoveled the backhander through Luongo.
Second period, 13:49, Bruins 2-1: It looked as if the Bruins had taken a 3-1 lead, but upon further review, the goal has been waved off.
Brad Marchand scored, but he was helped along by the fact that Roberto Luongo had gotten tied up with Torey Krug in the Boston crease. The original call on the ice was a goal, but the referees took a look and it was deemed that Krug’s contact with Luongo was enough to wave off the goal.
Second period, 11:28, Bruins 2-1: This one is far from over, as the Canucks are on the board.
Newly acquired Raphael Diaz just made an immediate impact, as he scored his first goal of the season with a blast from the right point. The puck was on edge and looked to knuckling somewhat as it went by Tuukka Rask. Regardless, that’s a save he usually makes.
Second period, 7:59, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins just went from power-play disaster to power-play goal in about 20 seconds.
Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin had a breakaway all by himself after Milan Lucic and Torey Krug collided in the neutral zone. However, Tuukka Rask made the save on Sedin, and the Bruins took the puck back the other way.
Zdeno Chara had the puck on the left wing where he zipped a pass through the slot to Jarome Iginla who had come barreling into the slot to one-time the pass by Roberto Luongo.
Second period, 7:03, Bruins 1-0: Yet another Bruins power play.
Jason Garrison is going back to the penalty box after he’s called for holding.
Second period, 5:30, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the 90 seconds of power-play time afforded to Vancouver after their penalty expired.
The Canucks didn’t get any real quality looks during their man-advantage for the Jarome Iginla hooking penalty, and they’re still chasing a goal here in the middle period.
Second period, 3:16, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins’ power play just came to a premature end, and they’ll be shorthanded in a few.
Jarome Iginla was found guilty of hooking behind the Vancouver net. So we’ll be 4-on-4 for 30 seconds before the Canucks get an abbreviated power play.
Second period, 1:46, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins are getting another power play.
Vancouver was called for too many men on the ice and the B’s get another man-advantage.
Second period, 0:01, Bruins 1-0: The second period is underway.
End first period, Bruins 1-0: The first period has come to an end, and the Bruins are out in front 1-0.
The Canucks got the better of the chances in that period, though, and outshot the Bruins 9-5 in the first 20 minutes.
First period, 16:32, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins didn’t get much of anything on the power play, and the two minutes come to an end with no real scoring chances.
The B’s struggled to even gain the zone let alone get chances on net during the man-advantage.
First period, 14:32, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins are getting the game’s first power play.
Jason Garrison was called for tripping after Daniel Paille gathered the puck and made a dash for the neutral zone and Garrison got his stick caught in Paille’s skates.
First period, 12:00, Bruins 1-0: The Canucks have responded nicely following the Milan Lucic goal.
That’s been especially true of the Vancouver first line of the Sedins and Alex Burrows. That trio has generated chances just about every time it’s been on the ice, and Daniel Sedin just had a nice scoring opportunity on a second-chance bid, but Zdeno Chara made a nice stick check to break it up.
First period, 7:45, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins almost took a 2-0 lead in a fluky way.
The B’s just dumped a puck in that took a wild bounce off of the glass and got on Roberto Luongo in a hurry, but he made the stop to keep it a one-goal game.
First period, 5:12, Bruins 1-0: It took a little longer than the last time Roberto Luongo was in town, but he has given up a goal.
The Bruins just took advnatage of an odd-man rush where Milan Lucic was the trailer, and the Bruins forward followed the play, took the pass from David Krejci and buried it by Luongo.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway.
6:50 p.m.: Dan Hamhuis and Chris Higgins will both be out of the Vancouver lineup tonight. That means we’ll see the debut of Raphael Diaz who was acquired from Montreal recently and Pascal Pelletier who was recalled earlier today.
The Canucks will start their top line of Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows.
6:45 p.m.: Pregame warmups are just wrapping up here at the Garden, as Ryan Kesler and Brad Marchand are the last skaters off the ice for their respective teams.
The Bruins don’t appear to be changing their lineup in terms of personnel, but Carl Soderberg looks like he’ll start the night in the middle on the third line. The Swedish forward has played wing for much of the season but just recently moved over to center, which coincided with the return of Chris Kelly. Bruins coach Claude Julien has said he’d like to ease Kelly back into the mix, which apparently includes using him on the wing before presumably putting him back in the middle.
6:30 p.m.: Pregame warmups are underway, and Tuukka Rask will start for the Bruins opposite Roberto Luongo.
4:50 p.m.: We can sit here and argue all we want (as some have on social media today) whether the Bruins and Canucks are rivals. The fact of the matter is, however, that these two teams get up for these games and they usually play some hotly contested hockey.
That’s been a bit of a problem for the B’s, though. Boston hasn’t beat Vancouver since Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final with both “rematches” going in the Canucks’ favor. That’s been in large part because the Bruins have almost gotten too geeked up for the matchups. They lacked discipline in the first rematch back in 2012, and their first meeting of the season showed a bit of an inability to channel the extra emotion into anything positive.
Coming off of a rivalry game against Montreal last week in which the Bruins came out inexplicably flat, they’ll try to figure everything out against Vancouver tonight. The fact that the Canucks come in on a losing streak only adds a wrinkle.
“Well I think there are a lot of reasons to be ready for tonight,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said following morning skate. “Last time we were in their building they decisively beat us. Second of all, they’re coming off of a loss last night and I’m sure — they’re a proud team — they are going to come out hard tonight because of the circumstances, not just because of us. So more reasons for us to be ready to play this game.”
11 a.m.: Bruins morning skate is just wrapping up now, and as expected, Tuukka Rask was the first goalie off the ice at TD Garden. That means he’s likely the Bruins’ starter in goal, which isn’t a big surprise as Chad Johnson started Saturday against Edmonton.
In other morning skate news, Carl Soderberg centered the Bruins’ third line during line rushes. He was in the middle, and Chris Kelly was to his left with Loui Eriksson on the right.
10 a.m.: The word hatred is thrown around a lot in sports, perhaps a little bit too much. However, when it comes to the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, that word certainly seems to apply to the rivalry these two teams have built.
“I think there’s definitely some hatred for that team,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand told reporters Monday after B’s practice. “And they have it for us. I think anytime you’re playing a team and you’re on the ice I think you’ve got to have that feeling. You’ve got to hate the other team. That’s what makes you want to push so hard to win that game. I think it’s safe to say that you kind of hate every team when you’re on the ice.”
That hatred will be renewed once again Tuesday night as the Bruins welcome the Canucks to TD Garden for just the second time since the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. The matchup will be the team’s second of the season. Boston was pasted 6-2 on Dec. 14 in Vancouver.
The B’s do appear to be catching the Canucks at the right time. Vancouver comes to Boston in the midst of a four-game losing streak and losers of seven of its last 10 games. The Canucks played Monday night and were shut out against the Detroit Red Wings. That loss marked head coach John Tortorella’s first game back after serving a 15-day suspension for his actions in a game against the Calgary Flames. With Tortorella serving his suspension, the Canucks went just 2-4.
The Bruins, meanwhile, are playing good hockey right now. Despite a stinker against the Montreal Canadiens last Thursday, the B’s have built some momentum heading into the Olympic break. They’ve won seven of their last 10 games and are putting a 21-6-2 home record on the line against the Canucks.
Roberto Luongo is expected to get the start in goal for the Canucks on Tuesday night. If he does, it will be his first start in Boston since Game 6 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. He gave up three first-period goals and was yanked early in that game. Luongo allowed 15 goals in the three games in Boston during that Final.
Tuukka Rask is expected to start for the Bruins. He was pulled during the Bruins’ loss to Vancouver earlier in the season.
Puck drop from the Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m.
