Beating Bruins would do wonders for confidence
BOSTON BRUINS (34-12-12) VS. VANCOUVER CANUCKS (37-16-6)
When and where: Saturday, 4 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: Hockey Night in Canada
Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: The last time these two squads met, just two weeks ago, the Canucks got embarrassed right off the start and just never caught up. Now they’re on a four-game losing streak. This is as big a test as they’ve faced all year and it’s time for them to change the narrative. Not only is this a chance to end their losing skid, but it’s also a chance to show they can beat top teams.
The history: That 4-0 loss Feb. 8 was as ugly as it gets. Two short-handed goals in the first period pretty much wrapped up the win for Boston and Vancouver just never got anything going. Rick Tocchet called on his stars to be better: J.T. Miller has responded at least, he has seven goals in his last eight games. Also of note, last year’s visit by the Bruins to Vancouver saw a goalie goal from Linus Ullmark.
The hope: The Canucks had success for so long this season, they’re bound to get back to that form soon. Surely.
The fear: The Canucks’ funk continues. They haven’t played well defensively in the past week or so and their goalies have only saved 87.6 per cent of the even-strength shots against them as a result. They can’t be porous against the Bruins or Boston will punish the Canucks. Rick Tocchet said Thursday he knows his team is feeling tired, but his group needs to dig deep and find their past success within themselves.
The top guns: Brock Boeser has 31 goals, but just one since his hat trick on Jan. 26. Miller’s torrid goal-scoring pace has him at 29 goals on the year, though. Elias Pettersson also has 29 goals, but he’s also in a goal-scoring slump with just one over his past seven games. Boston is led by David Pastrnak’s 36 goals. He has three in his last five games.
The wounded: Canucks: Dakota Joshua (broken hand, indefinite), Carson Soucy (broken hand, six to eight weeks), Guillaume Brisebois (concussion, indefinite). Bruins: Matt Grzelcyk (lower-body, dayto-day), Hampus Lindholm (lower-body, week-to-week), Mathew Poitras (shoulder, out for season). The quote: “This is a stretch of adversity for us. I really do think it will help us in the long run, but we also need to come together as a group, figure it out and stop it as fast as we can,” Tyler Myers, philosopher, after Thursday’s 5-2 loss in Seattle.
THE LINEUP: Forwards
■ Bains-miller-boeser
■ Höglander-pettersson-lindholm
■ Suter-blueger- Garland
■ Mikheyev-åman-lafferty
Defence
■ Hughes-hronek
■ Cole-juulsen
■ Zadorov-myers
Goalie
■ Thatcher Demko
The prediction: This is as tough as it gets. If the Canucks are going to win, it’s because they’re scoring goals. Look for a 5-4 barnburner to go Vancouver’s way.