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4 takeaways from Boston Bruins' 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks
The Boston Bruins lost to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday in what could be described as one of their worst performances of the season. On Thursday night, they welcomed the Vancouver Canucks to TD Garden in a clash of two of the best teams in the league, picking up a 4-0 shutout win.
When Vancouver returned to action on Tuesday, they beat the Carolina Hurricanes to remain the top team in the standings. Despite being dominant this year, they didn't impress against Boston and got shut out for only the second time in 2023-24.
4 takeaways from Boston Bruins' 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks
#1. Shorthanded goals are the name of the game
Just 17 seconds into the evening's contest, Bruins forward Jakub Lauko took a minor penalty for holding. On the ensuing Canucks powerplay, Boston captain Brad Marchand scored just 32 seconds into the game to give his team a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal that almost tied an NHL record held by Wayne Gretzky, who once scored a shorthanded goal 30 seconds into a game.
Later, with David Pastrnak in the box for tripping, Danton Heinen scored a shorthanded breakaway goal to put Boston up 2-0, a lead that was never in jeopardy as they secured a 4-0 victory. Interestingly, both teams failed to score on the man advantage (0-for-3), but the Bruins won the special teams battle with two shorthanded lamplighters.
#2. The Bruins shut down the NHL's second-best offense
Heading into Thursday night's game, the Canucks had 189 goals this year, which ranked second behind the Colorado Avalanche. Moreover, Vancouver has three players; J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, who rank among the top 10 scorers in the league, yet none find the scoresheet in Boston.
Their latest defeat is only the second time this season that the Canucks failed to score a goal, with the other one taking place on Oct. 17, 2023, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile, the shutout is the fourth time the Bruins held a team without a goal, including contests against the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and New Jersey Devils.
#3. Linus Ullmark outshines Thatcher Demko
Last year, Linus Ullmark was the top goalie in the league, winning the Vezina Trophy while earning a 40-6-1 record, while Thatcher Demko only played 32 games with a 14-14-4 record. On Thursday, two of the game's best went head to head, and it wasn't much of a competition, with Ullmark making 17 saves for his first shutout of the season.
Although Demko gave up four goals, including two shorthanded, he was on the hook for his ninth loss of the year, which shouldn't hurt his Vezina Trophy consideration. Despite Ullmark getting lucky with several favorable bounces and a disallowed goal on a high stick, Demko needed to rise to the occasion since the Canucks and Bruins are two of the top teams in the standings, and he didn't.
#4. Boston plays Canucks like it's 2011 all over again
The Bruins last won the Stanley Cup in 2011, in a thrilling seven-game series over the Canucks, winning the decisive game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Despite the series going the distance, the Canucks struggled in every game at TD Garden in Boston.
Considering how dominant the Bruins looked on Thursday, it was eerily reminiscent of the 2011 series, with the home team dominating in all aspects of the game to shut out a competitive team. Just like in 2011, Marchand was all over the play, scoring or finishing his checks. This was a physical game, and it all started when the Boston captain scored just seconds into the contest to set the tone.
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