Boston Bruins

Bruins Beat Down Canucks To Get Road Trip Back On Track

Published

1 month ago

December 15, 2024

Andrew Fantucchio

The Canadian Press via AP/Ethan Cairns

The Boston Bruins were completely lost through the first two games of their current road trip.

All the good habits they packed during a 7-2-0 stretch in their first nine games under Joe Sacco were forgotten, leaving them utterly embarrassed in both Winnipeg and Seattle.

Absent was the tight defense. Missing was the secondary scoring. Gone was the composure.

But somewhere on their journey north on I-5, the Bruins must have stopped for replenishments, as they got themselves back on track Saturday night at Rogers Arena with a 5-1 beat down of the Vancouver Canucks.

Brad Marchand got the offense started for the Bruins.

Still as beloved as ever in Vancouver, the last remaining member from the 2011 Stanley Cup championship team was met by a chorus of boos each and every time he touched the puck.

But as Boston operated on the power play, Marchand quickly silenced the crowd as he rolled to an open patch of ice along the goal line to put himself in perfect position to roof a shot quick wrist shot underneath the crossbar that made it 1-0 Bruins at 5:12 of the first period.

6️⃣3️⃣ strikes first 🚨 pic.twitter.com/TNmUyINu5b

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 15, 2024

Assists from Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak led to Marchand’s team-leading 13th of the season and fifth in his last six games.

Pastrnak continued to spread the wealth.

He set up Morgan Geekie for his fifth goal of the season which pushed the lead to 2-0 at 8:08 of the opening frame. Pastrnak later helped make it a 3-0 Boston advantage early in the second when he won a battle along the boards and blindly threw a backhand pass toward center ice, where Pavel Zacha picked it up in stride.

Entering the zone with speed, Zacha got Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko to bite on a forehand deke, opening up the far side of the net for him to easily score Pashis eighth goal of the year.

1️⃣8️⃣ adds another 👏 pic.twitter.com/xZoEFC8WBd

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 15, 2024

Eventually, Pastrnak decided to score a goal of his own.

While the two sides played four-on-four to begin the third period, Pastrnak wrapped around the back of the cage for his 11th goal of the year and fourth point of the night.

The win for the Bruins came as a direct result of the kind of energetic and disciplined start that had eluded them through the first two games of this road trip.

On Tuesday in Winnipeg and Thursday in Seattle, the Bruins took themselves out of the game before it ever really began. In Vancouver, though, the Bruins got to work right away and never let up.

Boston peppered Demko all night long with a barrage of 29 shots, including one by Marc McLaughlin from far beyond the faceoff dots that deflected off a Vancouver defender before entering the net and making it 4-0 Bruins at 11:49 of the second period.

The high-shot volume strategy the Bruins used against the Canucks was the exact same one they employed the first time they faced them this season back on Nov. 26, when they were shut out at TD Garden despite controlling play for nearly the entire game.

Jeremy Swayman nearly returned the favor on Saturday as he held the Canucks scoreless until 10:13 of the third period before a weak attempt from Max Sasson became the only of 2o Canucks shots that made it past him.

Moving east from Vancouver, the Bruins begin the final leg of their trip with their GPS set toward Calgary, where they’ll meet the Flames on Tuesday night.