Bruins Blank Canucks

(Photo: Alan Sullivan)

Though the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks traditionally only see each other twice a year, perhaps three times at most, their tilts often have some additional physicality. Tuesday night’s game was no exception.

The first period moved along rather quickly, perhaps the result of the referees electing not to use their whistles for anything other than when the goaltenders covered the pucks or the one delay of game penalty assessed to the  Vancouver Canucks when head coach Travis Green challenged Charlie Coyle’s goal for being offside. This was one of those times when the review appeared to be wrong, however when the explanation came out, it could be seen to be onside.

According to the explanation issued by the NHL Situation Room, Charlie McAvoy did not have “possession” of the puck–since his stick was not touching the puck–until after Sean Kuraly had tagged up. Agree or disagree, it was a tough call for the Canucks, to be sure. The Canucks found themselves down a goal and down a man for the next two minutes.

“I wasn’t really sure kind of out of my peripheral there I thought [Kuraly] had tagged up but I wasn’t sure, you know, we were lucky to see that one stand. I tried to straddle the blue[line] there for as long as I could till [Kuraly] came over and and I’m gonna have to watch it to see how close it was. But yeah, to my understanding I just tried to not touch it, till he was there,” shared McAvoy after the game.

As for Coyle, he had his tenth goal of the season. And while many value a player only for how many markers he puts up, Coyle’s abilities to protect the puck and his strength along the walls and how he moves on the ice is something that is certainly beneficial to the Bruins.

“You just want to do it the right way. Sometimes you’re playing the right way and if it’s, you know, points wise, you’re not on the scoresheet, you know but you’re playing good hockey and that’s the thing with this team, it doesn’t matter who scores, who gets the assists, it’s, you know, everyone’s gonna chip in and do their part as long as everyone’s doing, you know, playing the right way. So that’s all I’m trying to do,” said Coyle.

There were certainly some missed calls on both teams in the first, and that certainly increased the on-ice animosity as the game continued. However, as the first period came to a close, the Bruins were outshooting the Canucks 13-6 and it was the stellar play of Jacob Markstrom that kept the Bruins from having more than the one goal.

Going into the second period, the Bruins came out strong in a frame that is often not their friend. They killed two penalties during the period—both with potential short-handed bids at the other end. Once again Markstrom kept the door shut on his net while he suffered little support from the team in front of him. And while the Bruins weren’t able to convert on either of their second period power players, their cycling and shots on net showed solid play. At 15:35 while the Bruins were buzzing around Markstrom, he overcommitted and was flat on the ice. Patrice Bergeron put the puck on Brad Marchand’s stick in the slot and it was a second goal for the black and gold. McAvoy notched his second assist of the night as well.

It wasn’t until the third period that the referees truly found their whistles. Torey Krug was sent off for a slashing penalty at 12:38 of the final twenty, and then while on the man advantage, Quinn Hughes found himself sent to the box for a slash exactly one minute later—negating the Canucks power play and opening up the ice as the teams played four-on-four. It was while the teams had more time and space that David Krejci was able to get one past Markstrom, glove side high, giving Boston a three-goal lead with 5:51 remaining in regulation.

As the play turned the other way, Jay Beagle was skating down the left wall, with McAvoy backchecking him with intensity. As Beagle went to try and make a play he ended up colliding with Rask—who had just returned from a concussion—in his net and McAvoy let Beagle know his contact with Rask wasn’t appreciated. In the end Beagle got not only a goaltender interference call at 15:11, but he also somehow earned himself an early trip to the showers, when he was given a 10-minute misconduct and sent off.

The Bruins hadn’t been able to capitalize on the power play, despite having had an earlier five-on-three opportunity in the second. Tyler Myers would unintentionally give the Bruins another chance at the five-on-three when he was whistled for a delay of game having shot the puck over the glass while on the penalty kill.

Though the Bruins didn’t convert during the one minute of the two-man advantage, Karson Kuhlman converted on the Myers penalty with just 12 seconds remaining on the power play, assisted by Coyle—who now had a two-point night—and Matt Grzelcyk at 18:10.

As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins had notched four goals from the 42 shots on Markstrom, while Rask had denied all 25 shots he saw. This was Rask’s third shutout of the season and the 48th of his career.

The Bruins have little time to dwell on the success. Just shortly after the game, they were on their way to the airport to catch their plane to Chicago. They will take on the Blackhawks on Wednesday night.