Preview: Road trip continues with a stop in Vancouver

Just the facts

  • When: Tonight, 10 PM
  • Where: Rogers Arena – Vancouver, BC
  • How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
  • Opposing perspective: Nucks Misconduct

Know your enemy

  • 16-20-3, 35PTS, last in the Pacific Division
  • Elias Pettersson: 9G-14A-23PTS; Conor Garland: 7G-15A-22PTS; Filip Hronek: 2G-20A-22PTS
  • Thatcher Demko: 8-8-0, 2.72 GAA, .907 save percentage

Game notes

  • After a strong outing in Edmonton to wrap up 2025, the Bruins begin a new year in Vancouver against a Canucks team that finds itself in the basement of the Pacific Division.
  • As you likely remember, these two teams played around two weeks ago back in Boston, a 5-4 shootout win for the Canucks.
  • Kevin Lankinen was great for the Canucks in that game, stopping 38 shots in regulation/OT plus all seven shootout attempts. Thatcher Demko has had the lion’s share of the work since then, with Lankinen making just one start since Dec. 20, a win on Monday night. Meanwhile, Demko has lost three starts in a row.
  • Marco Rossi hasn’t set the world alight since arriving in the Quinn Hughes trade, recording just a goal and an assist in seven games.
  • Ol’ pal Jake DeBrusk is tied for third on the team in goals with nine — eight of which have come on the power play, which isn’t exactly an ideal distribution.
  • The Canucks have lost three of their last four, with the win coming Monday night against Seattle. That game ended in a shootout, as did the game at TD Garden.
  • Vancouver isn’t exactly a stout team defensively, allowing 3.49 goals-against per game, the second-worst mark in the league. Their penalty kill (75.2%) is fourth-worst in the league.
  • In looking at Vancouver’s scoring leaders, I was surprised to see that their highest scorer has just 23 points. That would be fifth-best on the Bruins, though it’s fair to point out that David Pastrnak (44PTS) and Morgan Geekie (41PTS) are the only two free and clear of everyone on Vancouver.
  • The Canucks have been bad on home ice this season, posting a record of 4-12-1. If you’d like some highly advanced stats, that means 75% of Vancouver’s wins this season have come on the road. Not exactly rewarding their fans with high-caliber play.
  • Given his performance in Edmonton and the decent amount of time off between games, I’d imagine Jeremy Swayman gets another start tonight.

See ya tonight!

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