Feb 4, 2020; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) scores a goal past Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) during the first period at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Bruins continued their post-bye winning ways on Tuesday night, as the B’s got goals from four different scorers while Tuukka Rask stopped all 25 shots thrown his way in a 4-0 win over the Canucks at TD Garden.
Skating in their first home game in two weeks, the Bruins opened things up with a filthy Charlie Coyle goal on Jakob Markstrom generated off a Charlie McAvoy shot 14:24 into the first period.
It was good for Coyle’s 10th goal of the year — it was also his third goal and eighth point in his last 11 contests — and gave the Black and Gold a 1-0 lead through the opening period.
But after the Bruins failed to convert on a full minute of a 5-on-3 advantage — and with more than a few fantastic stops from Markstrom, who was dialed in for every possible David Pastrnak chance over that spell — the Canucks were given a chance to even things up in the second period on an Anders Bjork hooking call.
But Rask and the B’s stood tall (Chris Wagner nearly scored a shorthanded goal on the kill), and Brad Marchand pushed Boston’s lead to two on his 23rd goal of the season, scored with 4:25 remaining in the middle frame.
Carrying that two-goal lead into the third period — and limiting the Canucks to just 15 shots on goal through the first 40 minutes of play — the B’s weathered the storm from Vancouver before they added two strikes in the final six minutes of regulation, the first from David Krejci (his 13th) and the second on Karson Kuhlman’s first goal of the season.
It was a seemingly quiet shutout for Rask in the Boston crease, as he handled all 25 shots thrown his way with relative ease, and extended his home point streak to 17 games (11-0-6), tying him with Gilles Gilbert for the longest home point streak to begin a season. Gilbert, by the way, went 16-0-1 during his streak, which came all the way back in 1973-74
Danton Heinen, meanwhile, sat this contest out as a healthy scratch. This is Heinen’s second straight ‘DNP’ but is the first that’s performance-based, as an upper-body injury was the reason for No. 43’s absence in Minnesota. With Heinen out, Sean Kuraly returned to the B’s lineup and skated on the third line with Coyle and Bjork.
Heinen was joined in the Boston press box by fellow healthy scratch, defenseman John Moore (his fourth straight), while fourth-line forward Joakim Nordstrom missed this contest due to an apparent allergy issue.
There will once again be no rest for the victors, as the Bruins will get back on the road for a Wednesday night meeting with the Blackhawks. Chicago has rattled off wins in seven of their last 10, currently sit just three points out of a playoff spot in the West, and defeated the Bruins in overtime in a Dec. 5 matchup at TD Garden.