Led by David Pastrnak‘s four points, one of which was his 400th career assist, the Boston Bruins dominated the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Saturday night at Rogers Arena. Brad Marchand scored his fifth in the last five games and had a game-high seven shots after beginning the game getting booed by Canucks fans while Pavel Zacha had his own multipoint effort with a goal and two assists. Morgan Geekie also added to the fun with a goal and an assist. Max Sasson was the only one to answer for the Canucks, notching his first NHL goal in the third period.
Game Recap
The Bruins got the scoring started early on the power play with Marchand striking a little over five minutes in, outwaiting Thatcher Demko and roofing his 13th. Heavily outshooting and out-chancing the Canucks early on, the Bruins doubled their lead at 8:08 when Geekie one-timed a pass from Pastrnak to put his team up 2-0. The Bruins came out with a purpose and not only finished the first with a 2-0 lead but a 16-4 shot advantage.
The domination continued in the second for the Bruins with Zacha increasing the lead to 3-0 only 1:13 into the period. Then, taking advantage of a Canucks’ turnover and a double deflection off Tyler Myers and Erik Brannstrom, Marc McLaughlin increased the lead to 4-0 with his first of the season at 11:49. Going into the third, the Bruins had complete control of the game, limiting the Canucks to only four high-danger chances and blanking them on the scoreboard.
The Canucks have a history of coming back this season, but the Bruins put a dagger in that early in the third with Pastrnak’s 11th of the season and fourth point of the night. Sasson broke Jeremy Swayman’s shutout bid halfway through the period, but the Bruins didn’t allow anything after that, easily sliding by the Canucks 5-1. Swayman made 19 saves on 20 shots in a bounce-back performance after allowing eight goals against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 10. At the other end, Demko made 24 saves on 29 shots in his second start after coming back from injury, dropping his first in regulation following a 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
What’s Next for the Canucks & Bruins?
The Canucks will wrap up their six-game homestand against Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche on Monday while the Bruins will head to Alberta to play the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
