The Boston Bruins host the Vancouver Canucks tonight at TD Garden with puck drop at 7:00 pm. The B’s are looking to start a win streak as they’re coming off a 2-1 victory against the Dallas Stars. In a good solid effort, the Bruins held off the Stars that forced an overtime with Brad Marchand scoring the winning goal. Tonight’s game marks the second of four games being played in Boston. The team will be looking to win some points these next few games and bring some good momentum before they begin a long road trip starting next week in Colorado. So far, the Bruins are 3-3-3 on the road and 5-1 at home.
QUICK NOTES
(Photo Credits: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Vancouver is currently tied for first place in the Pacific Division posting a record of 9-6-1. 19-year-old forward Elias Pettersson leads the team with 16 points and has 10 goals in 10 games. Center Bo Horvat isn’t far behind with 11 points in 16 games, netting seven goals. Pettersson has recently been named NHL’s Second Star of the Week as he continues to shine for the Canucks. Vancouver will be looking to recover from a 3-2 loss against the Detroit Red Wings, which snapped their four-game winning streak. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is hoping for another win as the team lost the first of two meetings against Vancouver.
Cassidy also confirmed that backup goalie Jaroslav Halak will start in net tonight against the Canucks. The Bruins first line continues to dominate as Patrice Bergeron leads the team in points (20), David Pastrnak with 17 points while Brad Marchand has 16 points. Rookie Urho Vaakanainen skated Wednesday as he still recovering from a concussion he sustained a few weeks ago in Ottawa. Cassidy was asked during press about a possible return date for Vaakanainen:
“I don’t have the timeline yet. This is part of his process to get back in the lineup, skating. Hopefully, he’ll join us soon…Friday will be a good measuring stick, if he gets back with us, then he’ll be a lot closer. Just happy he was out there”
In other injury news, Kevin Miller was also skating Wednesday before practice since suffering a hand injury. No current update on defenseman Charlie McAvoy‘s return. For Wednesday practice here were the lines:
Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Norstrom-Krejci-DeBrusk
Heinen-Backes-Bjork
Wagner-Kuraly-Acciari
Goaltenders:
Jaroslav Halak
GAME START: Tonight at 7:00 pm
WHERE TO WATCH: NESN
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(Photo Credits: Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports)