The Canucks sixth win a row came at the expense of the Edmonton Oilers with a 4-0 lopsided victory. The Oilers were coming off a back to back game situation where they faced the Boston Bruins 24 hours beforehand.
Vancouver controlled the game from the start and had a very strong 1st period, with nothing to show for it. It took Daniel Sedin on the powerplay in the 2nd period to get the Canucks on the board. The score remained 1-0 after 40 which gave the Canucks faithful some concerns knowing as how they tend to blow leads.
David Booth started the action early in the 3rd period by shooting a weak little wrister toward the net, which Zack Kassian help deflect the puck in past Devan Dubnyk. An Oilers turnover 4 minutes later gave Ryan Kesler a partial break toward the net. He was able to make a sweet backward pass to a streaking Chris Higgins who shot the puck 5 hole past Dubnyk. For good measure, the Canucks powerplay was treated by a goal from Dale Weise. Weise and his linemates Zac Dalpe and Jeremy Welsh worked hard all night and gave the Canucks some great shifts in the Oilers defensive zone. They were rewarded with more ice time which eventually paid off.
Vancouver outshot Edmonton 40-19 in the contest. Roberto Luongo was not tested too much as he stopped all 19 Oilers shots which gave him his 3rd shutout on the season.
Bruins @ Canucks Stanley Cup Final Rematch Preview
It has been over 800 days since the Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canucks came within one game of winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup. It was a compelling series filled with so much hatred. It had everything from punches to the head, finger biting, suspensions... it was nasty to say the least.
This is the main event of the night. Both teams are hot right now - the Bruins have won 4 straight while the Canucks have won 6 straight. The Bruins are ranked 1st in the Atlantic Division and 1st in the Eastern Conference. The Canucks are ranked 4th in the Pacific Division and 6th in the Western Conference.
There are some new faces to each side since the 2011 Cup Final. Some new faces on the Bruins side include Dougie Hamilton, Jarome Iginla, and Torey Krug. Some new faces on the Canucks side include Mike Santorelli, Ryan Stanton, and Brad Richardson. I have a feeling the rivalry is still there between the players who were there and experienced the Finals. I could see some explosions and bad blood be carried over too.
Update: Bruins forward Shawn Thornton has been suspended 15 games for his slewfoot/punch to head of Penguins Brooks Orpik.
This game can be viewed on CBC at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT.
Here are the projected lineups:
Bruins (the bad guys)
Forwards:
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg - Ryan Spooner - Matt Fraser
Nick Johnson - Gregory Campbell - Jordan Caron
Defensemen:
Zdeno Chara - Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg - Torey Krug
Matt Bartkowski - Kevan Miller
Goaltenders:
Tuukka Rask (starter)
Chad Johnson
Canucks (the good guys)
Forwards:
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Jannik Hansen
Chris Higgins - Ryan Kesler - Mike Santorelli
David Booth - Brad Richardson - Zack Kassian
Jeremy Welsh - Zac Dalpe - Dale Weise
Defensemen:
Ryan Stanton - Kevin Bieksa
Dan Hamhuis - Christopher Tanev
Yannick Weber - Jason Garrison
Goaltenders:
Roberto Luongo (starter)
Eddie LackThings to watch for - Bruins:
Milan Lucic - the heart and soul of the Bruins. The Vancouver native is on pace for a great season with 11 goals and 24 points in 32 games. The former Vancouver Giant is a model of what a hockey player should be like - he can score, he can fight, he can get pissed off. Milan Lucic is an icon in hockey with his many intangibles and great leadership.
Zdeno Chara - the big rig on the Bruins blueline. The 6'8" Slovakian team Captain has a huge shot and is a bear on skates. He ranks 11th in the NHL in time on ice at 25:17. If he gets any free looks from the point, he will score 9 times out of 10.
Things to watch for - Canucks:
Roberto Luongo - he is coming off 4 straight wins and a shutout. He has gotten stronger as the season has gone on. He has a 2.20 GAA and a .920 save percent. He was at the center of controversy during the 2011 Cup Finals with his "tire pumping" comments directed at Tim Thomas.
Ryan Kesler - he is coming off a 2 point night against the Oilers. He won 72% of his draws and provided some big hits on Oiler forwards Ales Hemsky and Taylor Hall. He looked like the Kesler of 2011 in last night's contest. Can he bring some of that edginess to tonight's matinee with the Bruins?
Prediction:
3-2 Bruins (shootout)
Until next time, stay classy! -George
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