Game 22: Boston Bruins @ Canucks Lines, Betting, Preview

The Boston Bruins (12-8-1, 25 pts) begin a three-game road trip in Northwest Canada as they return to the site of their 2011 Stanley Cup win and play the Vancouver Canucks (9-15-2, 20 pts.).

The road trip will also see the Bruins play Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night in Edmonton and then travel to Calgary for a tilt with old friend Milan Lucic and the Calgary Flames on Saturday night

The Bruins got the best of the Canucks in their first meeting, beating them 3-2 on Nov. 28.

Just in case you need a reminder of what happened at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on January 15, 2011:

Betting, Prediction: 

You can bet the Boston Bruins on the money line at -135 and on the puck line (-1.5) at +175. The over/under is 5.5 and you can take the over at -115 and the under at -105. After watching the jump in the Canucks in a 4-0 win in their first game under new head coach Bruce Boudreau on Monday and considering they know they let one slip away against the Bruins last month, the sense here is that we will see a much different Cancuks team Wednesday night. We’ll also see a tighter team defense from the home team. That’s why we’re suggesting the Canucks not on the money line, but in regulation for the much better value of +175. 

Prediction: Canucks 5 Bruins 2

-Jeremy Swayman will get the nod between the pipes for a third straight game. Swayman had a career-best 42-save performance for his fourth career shutout in a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators last Thursday and then stopped 22 of 25 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Swayman is now 7-4-1 with a 2.26 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

–As mentioned above, Marchand is back in the lineup tonight and it’s almost as if the Department of Player Safety timed it perfectly so that the Bruins winger would return against the Canucks in Vancouver. The crowd will be on him from the get-go and the Canucks will surely get in every extra hit they can on Marchand, who’s already public enemy No. 1 in Vancouver since the 2011 Stanley Cup win for the Bruins. Is the DPS testing Marchand’s restraint?

–Speaking of that 2011 Cup win, Boston Bruins captain told our colleague Rob Simpson of Vancouver Hockey Now how sweet every trip back to Vancouver is for him after the game-day skate on Wednesday.

-Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy returns to the lineup tonight after missing the loss to the Saturday night due to a non-COVID illness.

-Bruins forward Tomas Nosek was left behind for this road trip due to the same non-COVID illness that kept McAvoy out of the game Saturday and Charlie Coyle, Linus Ullmark, and Matt Grzelcyk out of practice earlier this week. Defenseman Jakub Zboril (lower-body) is also still out after suffering a leg injury last Thursday. Forward Anton Blidh (upper-body) is on the trip and nearing a return to action.

Vancouver Canucks Notes

-The Vancouver Canucks have gone through major changes since they last met the Bruins on Nov. 28. Late this past Sunday night, the Canucks fired head coach Travis Green and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner. They replaced them with Bruce Boudreau as head coach and Scott walker as a new assistant. The Canucks also fired general manager and former B’s asst. GM Jim Benning on Monday morning. Benning was replaced by an interim management committee headed up by Canucks legend Stan Smyl.

-J.T. Miller leads the canucks in goals with nine lamplighters and in points with 25. Ironically, he is the team’s third line center behind Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat.

-Defenseman Quinn Hughes leads the team in assists with 18 helpers.

Boston Bruins Lines

Forwards

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak

Tayor Hall-Charlie Coyle-Craig Smith

Erik Haula-Trent Frederic-Nick Foligno

Jake DeBrusk-Curtis Lazar-Oskar Steen

Defense

Derek Forbort – Charlie McAvoy

Matt Grzelcyk-Brandon Carlo

Mike Reilly – Connor Clifton

Goalies:

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark

Vancouver Canucks Lines

Forwards

Tanner Pearson-Bo Horvat-Nils Höglander

Vasily Podkolzin-Elias Pettersson-Conor Garland

Jason Dickinson-J.T. Miller-Brock Boeser

Tyler Motte-Juho Lammikko-Alex Chiasson

Defense

Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Tyler Myers

Quinn Hughes-Travis Hamonic

Luke Schenn-Tucker Poolman

Goalies:

Thatcher Demko

Jarslav Halak