FINAL: Boston Bruins 3, Vancouver Canucks 1
NOTABLE: Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark fired the puck the length of the ice into an empty net to give his team their final goal of the night at the 19:12 mark of the third period. Ullmark picked up his 30th victory of the season.
Different animals; that’s one way to describe the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks these days. Since the 2011 Stanley Cup Final won by the B’s, that club has remained the model of consistency while the Canucks have instead seen stages of toxicity.
It didn’t help matters on Saturday night that Vancouver defenceman Ethan Bear took a puck to the face just 37-seconds into the game and didn’t return. The Bruins are difficult enough to handle with a full compliment of blueliners.
First period shots were 20-7 in favour of Boston and they held a 2-0 lead after 20-minutes with goals from Hampus Lindholm and Brad Marchand. As much as BC fans like to boo Marchand, from a dislike dating back to the Final a dozen years ago, he’s an elite NHLer, and one of the very best as it relates to a combination of skill and determination.
Plus he’s a pain in the butt; just ask the Seattle Kraken from Thursday night.
2nd Period and Beyond
While Ullmark guarded the goal for the Bruins, Arturs Silovs picked up his fourth career start for the Canucks. The 21-year-old Latvian came in with a 2-and-1 record.
It never seemed as if Boston was ever too concerned about the inevitable result of this one. They simply did what they needed to do and kept the ice times reasonable with back-to-back road games coming up on Monday and Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.
The Bruins featured two new faces. Forward Garnet Hathaway and defenceman Dmitri Orlov played with their new club for the first time since leaving the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Craig Smith and some draft choices went the other way.
The new guys didn’t factor in the scoring.
Canucks Goal Scorer:
3rd Period
2-1 Bruins – Even Strength – Brock Boeser (11) from Conor Garland, 7:24
Boeser chipped a puck inside the far post on the backhand while cruising in front on his 26th birthday.
— Shots finished 35-27 in favour of the Bruins. Power play: Boston 1-for-3, Vancouver 0-for-3.
— The Canucks play in Dallas against the Stars on Monday.
