BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Canucks 2 - Marchand keys third-period rally

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Canucks, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

SHORT SHIFT

The Bruins didn’t take a lead until there was just 3:24 left on the clock on Sunday night.

But it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. And the Bruins took care of business down the stretch — scoring two power-play goals in the final 11:15 of play to rally back for a 3-2 win against the Canucks.

Anton Blidh, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak all scored for the Bruins, who improve to 11-7-0 on the season.  Linus Ullmark stopped 36 of 38 shots for the win.

The Canucks struck first just 3:33 into the contest, with Tanner Pearson knocking a loose puck past Ullmark on the man advantage to take an early lead. But Blidh provided the equalizer less than two later, snapping a puck past Jaroslav Halak off of an impressive individual effort.

Vancouver nearly took the lead again in the closing minutes of the first after finding the back of the net on another power-play opportunity, but it was negated upon review for offside. 

Undaunted, the Canucks struck again at 12:31 in the second, with Scituate native Conor Garland giving the visitors a 2-1 lead off of an odd-angle shot that beat Ullmark.

A tripping call against Nils Hoglander in the third gave Boston the opportunity it needed to get back into the contest — with Marchand knotting things up after wristing a skittering puck past Halak and a netfront scrum at 8:45.

The Bruins finally put themselves ahead for good after a boarding call on Oliver Ekman-Larsson put Boston back on the man advantage at 15:23. Pastrnak might have been credited with the go-ahead goal, but it was Marchand that orchestrated the sequence — separating himself from Kyle Burroughs before driving to the net and feeding the biscuit over to his linemate. 

It was a monstrous game for Marchand — who helped the B's avoid disaster by lifting them past a cellar-dwelling Canucks club.  

THREE UP

Brad Marchand: I feel like we say this countless times each year, but where would this team be without Marchand? Along with his dominant showing on the man advantage during Boston’s third-period rally, Marchand tried to tilt the momentum back in favor of his club in the second off of a few thunderous checks. You need your best players to step up in gut-check situations, and Marchand rose to the occasion on Sunday night. 

Anton Blidh: The Bruins don’t inject Blidh into the lineup to necessarily go end-to-end and light the lamp — but they’ll certainly take any offensive contributions that he can manufacture. Unfortunately, Blidh exited the game off of that hit from Ekman-Larsson, with his status TBD going forward due to an upper-body injury.

Linus Ullmark: Given the goals that he did relinquish, perhaps Ullmark deserves more of a “so-so” designation than a “three up” spot. But the netminder did elevate his game down the stretch, headlined by a shorthanded stop on Tyler Motte just 43 seconds before Marchand’s equalizer. It wasn’t all pretty, but the netminder has some momentum to build off of moving forward.

ONE DOWN

Penalty kill: A shaky start for Ullmark as the last line of defense didn’t necessarily help the PK all that much over the first 20 minutes of action, but Boston’s shorthanded unit labored in front of him as well — with a video review saving the B’s from coughing up two power-play tallies in the frame.  

LOOSE PUCKS

While Erik Haula’s benching on Sunday was warranted, Jake DeBrusk joining him on the ninth floor was more of a head-scratcher.

But based on Bruce Cassidy’s postgame comments, it sure seems like the B’s were encouraged with what they saw from the Foligno-Frederic-Kuhlman line against the Canucks.

"I thought (Foligno) played well with Freddy,” Cassidy said. “They have some similar attributes in terms of their size and how they're going to play in a straight line. I thought Kuhlman was skating well. Every time we put him in, he seems to have a good motor.  Had a couple of looks down the wing, so he complimented them well. So I like the third line. I thought they played solid for us."

PLAY OF THE GAME

PARTING THOUGHTS

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will be back at it on Tuesday with a home matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.