Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery didn’t want to call Thursday’s win over the Canucks his team’s best win of the season. Sure, he understood the magnitude of the showdown, which featured the best team in the East going up against the best team in the West, but this game didn’t feel like a true heavyweight tilt to him.
Well, if you ask me, there was a reason for that. And it’s because the Bruins choked the life out of the Canucks early in this game, and with a performance that may not be worthy of being dubbed the best win of the season, but a game that’s absolutely at the top of the list for ‘bounce-back wins’ this season.
Up against a Canucks team bolstered by the addition of Elias Lindholm and coming off a Tuesday win over the Hurricanes, it looked like it was going to be another tough start for the Bruins when a partial breakaway opportunity for the Canucks led to a Boston penalty not even 20 seconds into the game.
But it was the return of the Shorthanded King, Brad Marchand, that allowed the Bruins to avoid disaster and instead begin the night with a lead, with a shortie scored at the 32-second mark of the first period.
No. 3 Star: Linus Ullmark
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 8: Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins celebrates a shutout win against the Vancouver Canucks with teammate Matt Grzelcyk #48 at the TD Garden on February 8, 2024. (Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
It wasn’t the heaviest workload for Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark. In what was a clinical effort by the team in front of him, Ullmark was tagged with just 17 shots by the night’s end. But he did stop all 17 of ’em en route to his first shutout of the season, and did come through with some big-time stops to choke the life out of the Canucks.
#NHLBruins Linus Ullmark w/ the paddle and glove combo to keep #Canucks off the board on PP #VANvsBOS pic.twitter.com/J0C10oniYB
— PuckingOff™ (Jason Scales) (@PuckingOff) February 9, 2024It also appears that the 6-foot-5 Ullmark is beginning to rediscover his rhythm after his lower-body injury, too, with the 17-save shutout and a 35-of-37 performance in his last two outings.
No. 2 Star: Morgan Geekie
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 8: Morgan Geekie #39 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks with his teammates during the second period at the TD Garden on February 8, 2024. (Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
One of the things that Montgomery wanted — or needed, really — to see from his club in this game was how they responded physically after they failed to meet that challenge from the Flames on Tuesday night. And it was Morgan Geekie who led the way on that front, with a game-high six hits in just 15:04 of work.
Oh, and Geekie scored Boston’s third goal of the game, which felt the true knockout punch in this contest, as it came just moments into the second period and with Vancouver already down by two.
morgan geekie scores the greatest goal in NHL history pic.twitter.com/3wRmKS1vrP
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) February 9, 2024The goal was Geekie’s ninth of the season, tying his career-high set last year with the Kraken, and Geekie is now just four points away from matching his career-high of 28, also set last year with Seattle.
No. 1 Star: Charlie Coyle
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 8: Brad Marchand #63 of the Bruins celebrates his goal against the Canucks with teammates Hampus Lindholm #27 and Charlie Coyle #13 at TD Garden on February 8, 2024. (Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
He may not have found the back of the net in a four-goal outing for the Black and Gold, but the hot run continued for Bruins center Charlie Coyle all the same.
In what was his 10th straight game with at least one point, Coyle did his work on the penalty kill, and came through with the primary helper on both of the B’s shorthanded markers.
Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand team up for a shorthanded tally.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 9, 2024
1-0 Bruins just 32 seconds into the game. pic.twitter.com/69TxLSxmkZAnd in doing so, Coyle actually became the first Bruins player to have multiple shorthanded points in a game since Rich Peverley accomplished the feat on Apr. 10, 2013.
Charlie Coyle also first Bruins player to have multiple shorthanded points in a game since Rich Peverley on Apr. 10, 2013.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) February 9, 2024
