The Bruins are in town. Can the Canucks shut them down like they did the Panthers on Thursday?
Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks
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When: Thursday, 7 p.m. PT, Rogers Arena
TV: Sportsnet. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: Remember Big Z? Heeeee’s BAAAAACK. Vancouver’s love affair with Nikita Zadarov was short but sweet. He’s big and brash, so you can understand why the Bruins wanted him. He’s been as advertised, but the season as a whole has not gone to plan for the Bruins. They’ve already changed coaches.
The history: The Canucks shut out the Bruins 2-0 in Boston last month, a remarkably strong defensive effort from Vancouver, on par with Thursday’s shut-down of the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
The hope: The Canucks gave nothing away on Thursday to the Panthers and were killers off the rush. A repeat performance would look great.
The fear: The home-ice jitters return for Vancouver. Boston has given up 13 goals in the last two games, so surely they want to tighten things up. Maybe they will even come with a vengeance, with something to prove?
The quote: “I’m certainly not taking anything away from him, but I’m not standing here going, ‘If it wasn’t for their goalie.’” — Panthers coach Paul Maurice, commending the Canucks’ defence for boxing out Florida’s attackers, making for a relatively care-free night for Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen.
The lineup:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sherwood
Höglander-Miller-Boeser
Joshua-Suter-Garland
Heinen-Blueger-Sasson
Hughes-Myers
Soucy-Juulsen
Forbort-Friedman
Demko