Well guys, the time has come. The Boston Bruins (22-8-2) will be facing their rivals the Vancouver Canucks (19-10-5) in Vancouver for the first time since the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. Now as much as I would love to continually harp on the Canucks for that cup loss, it was two years ago and eventually we have to move on.
But I mean, in case you wanna relive some of those good times:
But I mean, in case you wanna relive some of those good times:
But no really, now we actually have to move on. The Vancouver Canucks are not a team we can take lightly. Granted their coach is an idiot, Luongo is still in net, we're pretty sure Aaron Burr still hasn't figured out when to keep his mouth shut and the Sedin sisters still haven't grown a pair but despite all of these huge obstacles, they're not going to be an easy team to beat.
The Canucks are on a six game win streak, which all things considered is pretty impressive. They're currently 6th in the Western Conference with 43 points and a 9-5-3 home record. They've got a goal differential of +11 and have scored 92 goals in 34 games, which comes out to be almost 3 goals a game.
And then there's Luongo. If you all don't remember, we've had quite the history with him. One of the last times we saw him, this lovely thing happened:
The Canucks are on a six game win streak, which all things considered is pretty impressive. They're currently 6th in the Western Conference with 43 points and a 9-5-3 home record. They've got a goal differential of +11 and have scored 92 goals in 34 games, which comes out to be almost 3 goals a game.
And then there's Luongo. If you all don't remember, we've had quite the history with him. One of the last times we saw him, this lovely thing happened:
But this season he's being doing a bit better than that game. He's got a 2.20 GAA (a whole .8 goals under that 3 goal limit he had during the game in the video) and a .920 SV%. He is 15-8-5 overall this season.
Now the Bruins are still pretty banged up and with the loss of our fighter to a 15 game suspension, this game is going to get really interesting. We all know tempers may very well boil over and without Thornton to help us out in that aspect, we're going to have to rely on guys like Lucic to take care of that.
Now the Bruins are still pretty banged up and with the loss of our fighter to a 15 game suspension, this game is going to get really interesting. We all know tempers may very well boil over and without Thornton to help us out in that aspect, we're going to have to rely on guys like Lucic to take care of that.
But to win this game, we're going to need more than just a fighting spirit. One of the biggest keys to winning tonight's game is to shut down the Sedin sisters, who have been powering Vancouver's offense all season. Between the two, they have 19 of the team's 92 goals and have assisted in 39 of the team's goals. They're both +4 on the ice. If we plan on keeping the Canucks at bay, we need to take care of these two early on and keep them away from the net. The best way to do that is shutting down those passing lanes to or from them. The forecheck is going to be crucial to keeping these two from scoring. The Bruins should be prepared for a rather physical night tonight.
In terms of our own offense, a good portion of these Bruins know how to get into Luongo's head. If you put him under too much pressure, he collapses. Luongo's biggest weakness is his inability to adapt to situations he's not used to and it's safe to say he isn't used to seeing this new Bruins team. What this all boils down to is the Bruins need to utilize some of our newbies (i.e. Krug and Miller) in our offensive drive. Luongo won't have any idea what to do with Krug, guaranteed. It will only help if we pester the hell out of Luongo. Luongo doesn't like us as is, nevermind if we manage to give him flashbacks of the Stanley Cup Finals. Put the big guys in front to cause some mayhem and just keep shooting and bam, Luongo starts freaking out.
This will be Tuukka's first time in net against the Canucks, which should be interesting. Pair a angry, sassy Finn with a bunch of guys with an affinity for being pains in the asses and there's bound to be shenanigans. But I think Tuukka is going to be just fine. His aggressive, acrobatic style is reminiscent of Tim Thomas, who was wildly successful against the Canucks. Tuukka almost always manages to maintain a cool head under pressure and that paired with his style of goal tending should keep him pretty solid in net.
In terms of our own offense, a good portion of these Bruins know how to get into Luongo's head. If you put him under too much pressure, he collapses. Luongo's biggest weakness is his inability to adapt to situations he's not used to and it's safe to say he isn't used to seeing this new Bruins team. What this all boils down to is the Bruins need to utilize some of our newbies (i.e. Krug and Miller) in our offensive drive. Luongo won't have any idea what to do with Krug, guaranteed. It will only help if we pester the hell out of Luongo. Luongo doesn't like us as is, nevermind if we manage to give him flashbacks of the Stanley Cup Finals. Put the big guys in front to cause some mayhem and just keep shooting and bam, Luongo starts freaking out.
This will be Tuukka's first time in net against the Canucks, which should be interesting. Pair a angry, sassy Finn with a bunch of guys with an affinity for being pains in the asses and there's bound to be shenanigans. But I think Tuukka is going to be just fine. His aggressive, acrobatic style is reminiscent of Tim Thomas, who was wildly successful against the Canucks. Tuukka almost always manages to maintain a cool head under pressure and that paired with his style of goal tending should keep him pretty solid in net.
My three guys to watch tonight are:
1. Brad Marchand: god does this little honey badger have a history with this team. The last few times we've played the Canucks Marchy has come up big for us when it counts. He may be struggling to find his game a little bit this season but the energy that comes with playing the Canucks may be just what he needs to go back to that goal scoring, irritating little ball of hate we all grew to love.
2. Torey Krug: The Canucks haven't had the pleasure of facing Torey Krug yet, which is all the better for us. Krug may not be the most physical guy on the ice but he's fast, he knows how to make plays and he's got a killer shot from the blue line. Krug has proven he does well against veteran teams with stellar goalies and I think tonight will be no different.
3. Milan Lucic: Milan Lucic is a train and he has never had time for the Canuck's shenanigans. This season, Lucic has been on a roll point wise. With his size and physicality along with the momentum he's been developing all season and the energy that comes inherently with these games, I think Looch is going to come up big for us tonight.
1. Brad Marchand: god does this little honey badger have a history with this team. The last few times we've played the Canucks Marchy has come up big for us when it counts. He may be struggling to find his game a little bit this season but the energy that comes with playing the Canucks may be just what he needs to go back to that goal scoring, irritating little ball of hate we all grew to love.
2. Torey Krug: The Canucks haven't had the pleasure of facing Torey Krug yet, which is all the better for us. Krug may not be the most physical guy on the ice but he's fast, he knows how to make plays and he's got a killer shot from the blue line. Krug has proven he does well against veteran teams with stellar goalies and I think tonight will be no different.
3. Milan Lucic: Milan Lucic is a train and he has never had time for the Canuck's shenanigans. This season, Lucic has been on a roll point wise. With his size and physicality along with the momentum he's been developing all season and the energy that comes inherently with these games, I think Looch is going to come up big for us tonight.
Score Prediction: 2-1 Bruins Win
Until the end of the game,
Keep calm and Bergeron!
Keep calm and Bergeron!