Third Period, 19:41, Canucks 1-0: Just 18.5 seconds away from overtime, the Canucks strike for the first goal of the game as Raffi Torres scores.
Ryan Kesler began the play at the left boards in what appeared very close to being offsides, but passed it to Hansen, who sent it on to Torres for the tap in behind Thomas.
Third Period, 18:06, 0-0: After a ton of Canucks icing that the Bruins couldn't capitalize on, the Bruins are guilty of one here late to give Vancouver a chance in the Boston end.
Third Period, 14:21, 0-0: The Canucks nearly get on the board as a shot in from the top left circle by Alexander Edler clangs off the crossbar over the shoulder of Thomas, but stays out to keep it scoreless.
Third Period, 11:34, 0-0: There no doubt that Thomas has been the star of this one, as he makes another huge stop, this time on Maxim lapierre, who was sent in alone in front by Hansen.
Third Period, 10:05, 0-0: Things have settled down a bit from the breakneck pace to start the third period as the teams are taking a little more care to avoid risking the one mistake that could decide this game.
Third Period, 5:01, 0-0: Thomas does it again, this time when Jannik Hansen gets behind the defnese and breaks in alone down the middle, but the Bruins goalie holds his ground and makes the stop as the net comes off its moorings.
Third Period, 3:16, 0-0: Three straight icings by the Canucks, but the Bruins can't convert on the offensive zone faceoff chances.
Third Period, 2:12, 0-0: Thomas with another one as he flashes the glove to snare a shot from the high slot by Alexandre Bolduc.
Third Period, 0:40, 0-0: Thomas with a huge stop early in the period on a tip in front by Burrows.
Third Period, 0:00, 0-0: The final frame is under way here in vancouver, with both teams still looking for the first goal of this Stanley Cup Final. With the way this one has gone so far, it may take just one to win Game 1.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Canucks continue to battle in a scoreless draw despite a near constant parade to the penalty box. Both teams are 0 for 6 on the power play, with Boston generating 12 shots on the man advantage and Vancouver seven.
Overall, the Bruins have a 26-20 edge in that category, though just a 9-8 advantage in the second despite the Canucks not getting a shot for the first 10 minutes of the frame.
Vancouver now leads 22-19 in hits in what has been a physical affair, but the Bruins have a 16-8 edge in blocked shots and a 24-20 advantage on draws. The first line of Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Milan Lucic is leading the way offensively with 12 shots between them, while Dennis Seidenberg (2 shots, 2 hits, 4 blocked shots in 19:26) and Zdeno Chara (20:03) have putting in monster efforts on the blue line.
End Second Period, 0-0: Another scoreless period is in the books, but it's certainly not for a lack of chances as the second frame featured plenty of action as well.
Second Period, 17:50, 0-0: The Bruins take another penalty, this time with Patrice Bergeron guilty of a trip on the forecheck behind the Vancouver goal.
Second Period, 15:09, 0-0: The action has stayed frantic here in Vancouver, with both teams having chances. Chara sprung Chris Kelly for a chance down the left wing that went wide, while a scramble in front produced a shot by Mason Raymond off the right post for Vancouver.
Second Period, 12:02, 0-0: The penalties have all expired and the sides are back at full strength, with blocks by Chris Kelly and Andrew Ference helping the Bruins survive that scare.
Second Period, 10:02, 0-0: The Canucks negate one of those penalties with Alexandre Burrows called for tripping, making it a 4 on 3 advantage.
Second Period, 9:54, 0-0: The Canucks will now have a 5 on 3 for 1:34 as Rich Peverley is called for hooking as he almost had a shorthanded breakaway.
Second Period, 8:40, 0-0: The Bruins are shorthanded again, this time with Dennis Seidenberg in the box for kneeing.
Second Period, 8:40, 0-0: The Bruins continue to pressure, with Lucic nearly setting up Horton, but Horton's bid went wide. Boston has a 22-12 edge in shots, with Vancouver yet to get a shot on goal this period.
Second Period, 6:00, 0-0: The Bruins kill that penalty off as well as things remain even in the special-teams battle and on the scoreboard.
Second Period, 4:00, 0-0: Things have gotten nasty here early in the second as Dan Hamhuis upends Milan Lucic with a hip check in front of the benches, leading to a huge scrum. David Krejci gets the only penalty for cross-checking, giving the Canucks a power play.
Second Period, 2:28, 0-0: The Bruins do nothing with that chance, as Vancouver is now back at full strength with both penalties killed off.
Second Period, 0:28, 0-0: The Bruins have a golden opportunity here a Kevin Bieksa is called for high-sticking, giving the Bruins a two-man advantage for 1:33.
Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The middle frame is under way here in Vancouver, where the game is scoreless but the Bruins will begin the second period on the power play after Alexandre Burrows got the extra minor in his altercation with Patrice Bergeron at the end of the first.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins didn't get a goal or take the lead, but they have to be relatively happy with that opening period. They weathered Vancouver's early charge, then countered nicely while creating some solid scoring chances.
Boston has a 17-12 edge in shots, many of which came on an early four-minute power play when the Bruins actually looked like a cohesive unit with the man advantage. Boston also leads in hits 15-11, blocked shots 9-5 and faceoffs 12-11 in a solid all-around period. David Krejci leads a balanced attack with three shots, while Johnny Boychuk has four hits and two blocked shots on defense.
The Bruins will have another power play to start the second, as Alexandre Burrows got a double minor for roughing and Patrice Bergeron just a single minor for their lengthy shoving match after the final whistle to end the first.
End First Period, 0-0: The first frame is in the books, and there's been no scoring, but plenty of action with the Bruins holding a 17-12 edge in shots.
The period ended with a lengthy scrum around the Bruins net as Patrice Bergeron and Alexandre Burrows engaged in a lengthy wrestling match and both Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa went after Zdeno Chara.
First Period, 18:22, 0-0: The Bruins with another good scoring chance as Mark Recchi feeds it out from behind the net to Brad Marchand in the right circle, but Roberto Luongo makes the save.
First Period, 15:25, 0-0: The Bruins kill that penalty off as well with some impressive work by the PK to keep this one scoreless.
First Period, 13:25, 0-0: The Bruins are shorthanded again, this time with Brad Marchand headed to the box for holding the stick. This one is quite a bit different than the penalty-free Game 7 Boston played against Tampa. the Bruins don't want to get into a special-teams battle with the Canucks.
First Period, 12:18, 0-0: That power play didn't look nearly as effective for the Bruins, who struggled to gain the zone and didn't create any serious threats on that chance.
First Period, 10:18, 0-0: The Canucks can't convert as Alexandre Burrows negates the power play with a holding penalty. It will be 4 on 4 for 29 seconds, then the Bruins go back on the power play.
First Period, 8:47, 0-0: The Canucks will now get their chance with a power play as Chris Kelly is sent to the box for high-sticking.
First Period, 8:03, 0-0: The Bruins created a lot of chances ion a much better looking power play over that four minutes, but the end result remains the same as they come up empty on the double minor. The Bruins now hold a 12-4 edge in shots, but it remains scoreless.
First Period, 4:03, 0-0: The Bruins get a golden chance early as they go on a four-minute power play after Daniel Sedin gets a double minor for high-sticking Zdeno Chara.
First Period, 3:04, 0-0: The Bruins just miss as David Krejci can't quite redirect a Nathan Horton feed at the right post as the top line creates some chances for Boston.
First Period, 2:28, 0-0: Tim Thomas is tested early, stopping Daniel Sedin with a pad save on redirection at the left post 19 seconds in, the first of several big stops in the opening minutes as Vancouver has jumped out to a 4-1 edge in sots already.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And the long wait is over, and the Stanley Cup Final is under way here at Rogers Arena with the Bruins looking for their first Cup since 1972 and the Canucks seeking their first ever in the 40th season of the franchise.
8:10 p.m.: The Bruins will open with their usual starting front line of Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi, with Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal. So the Bruins break up Chara and Dennis Seidenberg to start this one, but expect to see them together plenty.
The Canucks counter with Alexandre Burrows, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin up front, Alexander Edler and Sami Salo on the blue line and Roberto Luongo in net.
8:05 p.m.: The scratches are official, with Shawn Thornton, SHane Hnidy, Steven Kampfer and the rest of the Black Aces out for Boston.
In addition to Manny Malhotra (eye), Tanner Glass, Keith Ballard, Christopher Tanev, Andrew Alberts, Cody Hodgson and Aaron Volpatti are all out for the Canucks.
7:55 p.m.: Manny Malhotra did not participate in the warm-up for Vancouver. He will remain out with the eye injury suffered in March, but could still play at some point in this series.
Victor Oreskovich skated on the fourth line with Alexandre Bolduc and Jeff Tambellini, so it looks like he will get the call in Game 1 and not Tanner Glass.
7:50 p.m.: The Bruins line combinations in warm-ups remain the same as the end of the Tampa series. Shawn Thornton, Shane Hnidy and Steven Kampfer were on the ice for warm-ups, but did not participate in the line drills, signaling they will be healthy scratches once again.
Here are the full line combos from warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Recchi
Ryder-Kelly-Seguin
Paille-Campbell-Peverley
Defense pairs:
Chara-Seidenberg
Kaberle-McQuaid
Ference-Boychuk
7:40 p.m.: The teams have taken the ice for warm-ups at Rogers Arena. As expected, Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo led the clubs out and will be starting in net in this one.
7:15 p.m.: The Stanley Cup Final will get under way in just about an hour here in Vancouver.
Fans have already begun to filter into Rogers Arena, with a few Bruins jerseys in sight amid the sea of Canucks sweaters. The Canucks jerseys don't look as intimidating as some places though because of the conflicting color schemes due to so many uniform changes over the years. Just about every era appears to be represented though by the Vancouver faithful.
8 a.m: The big day is finally here.
After all the hype and hoopla, the Bruins and Canucks are finally ready to get back to work as they take the ice on Wednesday at Rogers Arena for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Both teams have waited long for this chance. Vancouver, which is celebrating its 40th season in the NHL, has never won the Cup, and last reached the Final in 1994. The Bruins' drought is at 39 years since last winning in 1972, and they haven't even played in a Final since 1990.
The Bruins haven't had to wait as long since they last played though, as they needed to go seven games in the Eastern Conference Final before finally dispatching Tampa Bay 1-0 on Friday. The Canucks beat San Jose in five games and have been off since last Tuesday.
The Bruins will try to take advantage of any rustiness for the Canucks with a strong start, while Vancouver will be buoyed by what promises to be a raucous Rogers Arena crowd as the Stanley Cup Final kicks off at last on Wednesday night.
The puck drops at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. out here in Vancouver), so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action from Rogers Arena.
