The Boston Bruins won in Vancouver for the first time since Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final to salvage the finale of their three-game road trip.
Ten Boston skaters factored into the scoring Saturday night, and goalie Tuukka Rask posted a 17-save shutout as the Bruins blew past the Canucks 4-0 at Rogers Arena.
The win allowed the Bruins to take four of a possible six points from the western Canadian trip after they lost to the Edomton Oilers in a shootout Wednesday night and dropped an overtime decision to the Calgary Flames on Friday.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Landon Ferraro beat Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom eight minutes into the second period. That goal put the Bruins ahead 3-0, and they faced little resistance the rest of the way.
Tyler Randell added an insurance goal in the third, with Ferraro — the game’s only multi-point scorer — and Zdeno Chara assisting.
WELL, THIS IS DIFFERENT
Bruins coach Claude Julien hasn’t been afraid to mix up his lines and defensive pairings this season. On Saturday, he threw them right into a blender.
Winger Jimmy Hayes and defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Colin Miller all were surprising healthy scratches against Vancouver, with Zac Rinaldo, Kevan Morrow and Kevan Miller returning to the lineup to replace them.
Kevan Miller had missed the previous seven games — five with a concussion, two as a healthy scratch — and Morrow had spent a full month in the press box, last seeing game action on Nov. 5.
EARLY ACTION
All three of the aforementioned returnees contributed in a productive first period for the Bruins.
Rinaldo, in keeping with the typical tone of a Bruins-Canucks game, dropped the gloves with Derek Dorsett just 2:07 after puck drop. It was Rinaldo’s first fight as a Bruin.
If Rinaldo’s intention was to energize his teammates, his bout with Dorsett appeared to have the desired effect. Brad Marchand opened the scoring just 47 seconds later.
The Bruins managed just five shots on goal in the first period, but two found the back of the net. Torey Krug fired a one-timer past Markstrom to make it 2-0.
Patrice Bergeron and Morrow assisted on Marchand’s tally, and Miller and David Krejci were credited with helpers on Krug’s. Morrow’s assist was the first of his NHL career and just his second point of the season.
VICTORY MARCH
Marchand was an offensive dynamo for the Bruins, supplying five of his team’s first 14 shots on goal. His goal was his eighth in nine games and his team-high 13th this season. No other Boston player has more than nine.
The feisty winger also was on the ice for three of the Bruins’ four goals.
PK IS A-OK
The Bruins’ previously putrid penalty kill has been phenomenal of late. It was again Saturday, keeping the Canucks off the board in each of their four power-play opportunities.
Boston has allowed just one power-play goal in their last eight games, killing 27 of 28 penalties during that span.
NOT ALL GOOD NEWS
The Bruins lost defenseman Adam McQuaid when he took a shot off the arm/wrist area during the first period. McQuaid, who has played in all 25 of Boston’s games this season, immediately exited down the tunnel and did not return.
UGLY ENDING
Vancouver’s frustration boiled over in the final minutes of the third period. With 1:53 left to play and the Bruins holding a four-goal lead, Brandon Prust hit Marchand with a blatant spear to the groin away from the play.
Prust, who is familiar with the Bruins from his days with the Montreal Canadiens, was given a 10-minute misconduct.
UP NEXT
The Bruins return home to take on the Nashville Predators, who visit TD Garden on Monday night.
Thumbnail photo via Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports Images
