After a review, it stands as no goal with Chara helping clear it off the goal line, and this one is officially over.
Milan Lucic was the hero in his hometown, factoring in all three goals with the game-winning goal and two assists.
The Bruins will look for their fifth straight win on this road trip Sunday night in Edmonton.
Third Period, 18:47, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins add a key insurance goal as Patrice Bergeron scores into the empty net.
Lucic, who leads the NHL with five empty-netters, gets the assist as he gives up the chance with a pass over to Bergeron this time.
Third Period, 18:29, Bruins 2-1: The Canucks get a faceoff in the Boston zone, and call timeout and pull Luongo for the extra attacker.
Third Period, 15:22, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins take their first lead as hometown boy Milan Lucic scores on the rebound in front.
That came after Lucic didn't get the call despite being interfered with by Sami Salo coming down the left wing, but David Krejci took over with a beautiful rush around the net, sending out a pass to Dennis Seidenberg for a shot from the right point. Luongo made the stop, but Lucic banged home the rebound.
Third Period, 13:10, 1-1: The Bruins' PK comes through again, denying Vancouver's potent power play for the third time in this one, even with Adam McQuaid playing without a stick in the final seconds of that penalty.
Third Period, 11:10, 1-1: The Bruins face a huge penalty kill here, as Greg Campbell is sent off for holding.
Third Period, 10:42, 1-1: The Bruins are finally putting some pressure on Vancouver, with the Bergeron line again turning in a strong shift to help turn the momentum back to Boston's side.
Third Period, 7:54, 1-1: The Bruins are struggling to get anything going here in the third. Seems like the only time they have possession of the puck is when Thomas is tying it up for a faceoff or someone is tossing it down the ice for an icing.
Third Period, 5:07, 1-1: The Canucks threaten twice, with Tanner Glass sending a shot wide from the left slot, then Mikael Samuelsson just missing on a chance at the left post.
Third Period, 3:03, 1-1: Good pace to start the third. It will be interesting to see how the Bruins defense stands up to this Vancouver attack while playing a man short in their rotation with Ference out.
Third Period, 0:00, 1-1: The final frame is under way, with the Bruins looking to stay perfect on the road trip with a big third period here.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins found the new gear they needed to match Vancouver in the second, outshooting the Canucks 14-10 and scoring the period's only goal to make it 1-1.
Nathan Horton had that goal and has played an inspired game so far. He has a game-high five shots, a hit and two takeaways in 11:17. Johnny Boychuk also has four shots to go with two hits and two blocked shots in 11:40, shaking off one of those blocks that stung him to return. That's key with the Bruins already down a defenseman with Andrew Ference suffering a lower-body injury earlier.
Tyler Seguin had just three shifts again in the second and has played just 5:04, but he finally made his presence felt with a couple solid shifts in the second, setting up Boychuk for a chance and getting a shot on net himself. The Canucks outhit Boston 12-6 in the second and now lead 18-16 overall in that category.
End Second Period, 1-1: The Bruins answer back with a strong second period, tying this one up as we'll head to the third to settle this one.
Second Period, 18:15, 1-1: Big save by Thomas as Mikael Samuelsson splits the defense and breaks in alone, but gets denied by the Bruins netminder.
Second Period, 17:50, 1-1: Johnny Boychuk is back on the ice. He went off in pain after blocking a shot up high earlier in the period. With Ference already hurt, the Bruins can't afford to lose another defenseman.
Second Period, 17:37, 1-1: Excellent up-and-down action in this one, with both teams trading chances and Thomas and Luongo each coming up with some big saves.
Second Period, 12:20, 1-1: The Bruins' penalty kill comes up big again, shutting down the league's top power play one more time. Now the Bruins have a chance to go back on the attack and pick up where they left off before Marchand's penalty.
Second Period, 10:20, 1-1: So much for that momentum for the Bruins, as Marchand gives the Canucks a power play with a slashing call.
Second Period, 9:56, 1-1: The Bruins pull even as Nathan Horton scores from the top of the crease.
Horton took a feed from Milan Lucic from behind the net and put in his own rebound with a second-effort goal to tie it. Kaberle gets the secondary assist for his first point as a Bruin.
Second Period, 8:36, Canucks 1-0: The best shift of the night by far for the Bruins, with the Bergeron line keeping the Canucks hemmed in their zone and creating multiple scoring chances.
Second Period, 6:53, Canucks 1-0: There's been a Tyler Seguin sighting, as he makes a nice play to set up Johnny Boychuk for a chance pinching in from the right point, but Luongo makes the save.
Second Period, 5:55, Canucks 1-0: More bad news for the Bruins. Andrew Ference has suffered a lower-body injury and will not return in this one.
Second Period, 4:57, Canucks 1-0: The Bruins can't do anything with that man-advantage, with the Canucks actually having the better chances shorthanded.
Second Period, 2:57, Canucks 1-0: The Bruins will get another power-play chance as Ehrhoff is sent off for tripping Bergeron.
Second Period, 2:01, Canucks 1-0: Malhotra nearly had a second goal, with a shot that went behind Thomas but across the crease without going in.
Second Period, 0:00, Canucks 1-0: The middle frame is under way, with the Bruins looking for the equalizer in Vancouver.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins stayed with the high-powered Canucks for most of the first, but one defensive breakdown is the difference so far. that's how small the margin for error can be when playing a team as talented as Vancouver.
The Canucks have an 8-7 edge in shots, but it could be a lot worse as the Bruins defense also has 10 blocked shots already. The Bruins also have 10 hits to Vancouver's six, but are just 4-7 (36 percent) on faceoffs with no Bruin over 50 percent.
Tyler Seguin must be resting up for the big showdown with Taylor all on Sunday. Seguin played a team-low 2:11 on three shifts with no shots, hits or any other stat.
End First Period, Canucks 1-0: The Bruins got off to a decent start, but Vancouver upped the pressure late in the opening period and will take a one-goal lead into the break.
First Period, 16:58, Canucks 1-0: The Canucks strike first, with Manny Malhotra scoring on a second effort at the right post.
That's the first goal Thomas has ever allowed against Vancouver. of course, it was also the first time he's played the Canucks with Tomas Kaberle giving the puck away in his own zone as he did here to set that play in motion.
First Period, 14:26, 0-0: The Bruins dodge a bullet there, as Victor Oreskovich can't get the puck to settle with a chance at an open net from the left slot.
First Period, 11:58, 0-0: Thomas with his first big stop of the night, robbing Sedin on a point-blank bid from the top of the crease.
First Period, 8:29, 0-0: The Bruins looked strong killing off that penalty against the league's top-ranked power play. Special teams will be huge in this one.
First Period, 6:29, 0-0: The first sign of any hostilities, as Brad Marchand and Keith Ballard get tangled up at center ice. No punches thrown, but Marchand gets the only penalty for holding the stick to give the Canucks a power play.
First Period, 4:14, 0-0: The Bruins can't convert the power play, despite a golden chance for Nathan Horton at the left post late in the penalty. But Horton couldn't lift it over Luongo's pad.
First Period, 2:14, 0-0: The Bruins get an early power play as Jannik Hansen gets called for goaltender interference.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And this one is finally under way in Vancouver, where the Bruins will look to stay perfect on this season-long six-game road trip.
10 p.m.: The Bruins will start Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi up front, with Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg on defense and Tim Thomas in goals.
Vancouver counters with Mason Raymond, Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson up front, Dan Hamhuis and Christian Ehrhoff on the blue line and Roberto Luongo in goal.
9:45 p.m.: No surprises in the scratches. The Bruins go with the same lineup they used on Tuesday. That means Daniel Paille and Steven Kampfer remain out.
The Canucks scratch Kevin Bieksa (foot) and Jeff Tambellini.
9:40 p.m.: One positive to the late West Coast start: No need for any scoreboard watching during the game.
Most of the Eastern Conference games are already finished or will be done shortly. That includes Montreal's game against Carolina. The Habs held on for a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes. That puts some extra pressure on the Bruins, whose lead in the Northeast Division is down to just two points, though Boston does have three games in hand (including this one in Vancouver).
9:30 p.m.: As expected, it's Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo in the nets for this one.
Thomas has never allowed a goal against Vancouver, but it will be a challenge to keep that streak alive as the Canucks lead the NHL with 207 goals.
9:20 p.m.: In case you missed it earlier, the Bruins officially signed Shane Hnidy on Saturday.
The veteran defenseman isn't ready to play yet as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery after being injured in training camp while trying out for Phoenix, but he will add some depth down the stretch if injuries strike.
9 p.m.: The long wait, both between games and for the late start for this one on the East Coast, is almost over. The Bruins will take on the Canucks in just about an hour.
Boston has opened its six-game road trip with three straight wins, the last coming Tuesday in Calgary. But now the big measuring stick comes as they take on the Canucks, who own the best record in the league.
Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate and is expected to start this one. He's shut out Vancouver in each of his first two starts against the Canucks. Roberto Luongo is expected to start for Vancouver.
After getting hit in the foot with a shot in practice on Friday, Brad Marchand participated in the morning skate on Saturday and should be good to go in this game.
8 a.m.: After enjoying the sights in Vancouver for the past three days, the Bruins get back to work on Saturday night with the far less enjoyable task of having to find a way to stop the red-hot Canucks.
Vancouver owns the best record in the NHL with a 39-14-9 mark good for 87 points. The Canucks are also a league-best 22-5-5 at home.
Actually, the Canucks lead the league in just about every statistical category. They are tops in goals with an average of 3.31 a game, boast a league-best team goals-against average of 2.29 and their plus-60 goal differential is also head and shoulders above any other team. Vancouver's power play is first in the league at 25.1 percent, and while the Canucks' penalty kill isn't quite as dominant, it's still pretty dangerous at 85.5 percent, good for fourth in the NHL.
Up front, the dynamic duo of the Sedin twins lead the way, with Daniel Sedin currently first in the NHL scoring race with 32-47-79 totals and Henrik Sedin not far behind in third at 15-59-74. Last year it was Henrik Sedin setting the pace, as he won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 29-83-112 totals and also earned the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. Ryan Kesler isn't exactly a shabby third wheel either, as he checks in with 33-24-57 totals and is also the frontrunner for this year's Selke as the league's top defensive forward.
About the only weakness the Canucks might have is their banged-up blue line. They did get Keith Ballard (knee) and Dan Hamhuis (concussion) back on Tuesday against Montreal and Sami Salo returned on Feb. 12 after missing the first 55 games of the season with a ruptured Achilles, but Kevin Bieksa (foot), former Bruin Andrew Alberts (wrist), Alex Edler (back) and Lee Sweatt (foot) all remain on injured reserve.
The Bruins will have to try to exploit that shorthanded defense with the speed and depth they've added up front with recent acquisitions Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly and a power play bolstered by the addition of Tomas Kaberle. Boston has won each of the first three games of its season-long six-game road trip, but might have to go for their fourth-straight victory without Brad Marchand, who left practice early on Friday after being hit on the foot with a shot.
It's a late start out West in this one with the puck dropping at 10 p.m., but check back here throughout the day and night for updates on all the action.
