Boston Bruins at Vancouver Canucks (-188, 5)
Vancouver leads series 1-0
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks took a bite out of the Boston Bruins in more ways than one in the opener of the Stanley Cup final. The Canucks seized the upper hand Wednesday, earning a thrilling 1-0 win in what looks like it might be a defensive-minded series. Vancouver looks to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven when it hosts Game 2 Saturday night at Rogers Arena.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE CANUCKS: With much of the attention from Game 1 drawn to Vancouver forward Alex Burrows' chomp on the gloved finger of Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, it was Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo who deserved the most publicity. The much-maligned goalie stopped all 36 shots he faced to win Round 1 of his duel with fellow Vezina Trophy nominee Tim Thomas. Since being benched for the start of Game 6 in the Canucks' first-round tilt with Chicago, Luongo has gone 10-4 with a 1.75 goals-against average, a .942 save percentage and two shutouts. If he continues performing this well, the Bruins will be hard-pressed to keep pace.
ABOUT THE BRUINS: Boston managed to reach its first Stanley Cup final since 1990 despite a playoff-long struggle with the man advantage. The troublesome power play was a factor in Game 1, as the Bruins failed to convert on both a two-man advantage and a four-minute 5-on-4 and finished 0-for-5 in the game. When asked about improving the power play, Bergeron said: "We have to. We have to find a way to score more goals. On the power play, it’s one key area that we need to fix and be better, especially having a five-on-three and a four-minute five-on-four, you’ve got to find a way." The Bruins' power play is at just seven per cent for the playoffs.
WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: Luongo and Thomas are the hottest players going for their respective teams. Luongo has turned aside 90 of 92 shots over the past two games while Thomas has allowed just one goal on his last 58 shots faced.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Vancouver also went 0-for-5 on the power play in Game 1 to dip to 25.8 percent for the postseason. Boston has converted just one of its last 20 man-advantage opportunities.
TRENDS:
* Under is 4-0-1 in the last five meetings.
* Bruins are 0-4 in their last four after allowing two goals or less in their previous game.
* Canucks are 5-0 in their last five playoff games as favorites.
* Over is 6-1 in Bruins' last seven after allowing two goals or less in their previous game.
* Under is 13-3-2 in Canucks' last 18 after scoring two goals or less in their previous game.
LAST WORD: Vancouver defenseman Dan Hamhuis is questionable for Game 2 after suffering a lower-body injury in Wednesday's opener. He was injured shortly after sending Milan Lucic head-over-heels with a hip check near the team benches.
Vancouver leads series 1-0
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks took a bite out of the Boston Bruins in more ways than one in the opener of the Stanley Cup final. The Canucks seized the upper hand Wednesday, earning a thrilling 1-0 win in what looks like it might be a defensive-minded series. Vancouver looks to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven when it hosts Game 2 Saturday night at Rogers Arena.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE CANUCKS: With much of the attention from Game 1 drawn to Vancouver forward Alex Burrows' chomp on the gloved finger of Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, it was Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo who deserved the most publicity. The much-maligned goalie stopped all 36 shots he faced to win Round 1 of his duel with fellow Vezina Trophy nominee Tim Thomas. Since being benched for the start of Game 6 in the Canucks' first-round tilt with Chicago, Luongo has gone 10-4 with a 1.75 goals-against average, a .942 save percentage and two shutouts. If he continues performing this well, the Bruins will be hard-pressed to keep pace.
ABOUT THE BRUINS: Boston managed to reach its first Stanley Cup final since 1990 despite a playoff-long struggle with the man advantage. The troublesome power play was a factor in Game 1, as the Bruins failed to convert on both a two-man advantage and a four-minute 5-on-4 and finished 0-for-5 in the game. When asked about improving the power play, Bergeron said: "We have to. We have to find a way to score more goals. On the power play, it’s one key area that we need to fix and be better, especially having a five-on-three and a four-minute five-on-four, you’ve got to find a way." The Bruins' power play is at just seven per cent for the playoffs.
WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: Luongo and Thomas are the hottest players going for their respective teams. Luongo has turned aside 90 of 92 shots over the past two games while Thomas has allowed just one goal on his last 58 shots faced.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Vancouver also went 0-for-5 on the power play in Game 1 to dip to 25.8 percent for the postseason. Boston has converted just one of its last 20 man-advantage opportunities.
TRENDS:
* Under is 4-0-1 in the last five meetings.
* Bruins are 0-4 in their last four after allowing two goals or less in their previous game.
* Canucks are 5-0 in their last five playoff games as favorites.
* Over is 6-1 in Bruins' last seven after allowing two goals or less in their previous game.
* Under is 13-3-2 in Canucks' last 18 after scoring two goals or less in their previous game.
LAST WORD: Vancouver defenseman Dan Hamhuis is questionable for Game 2 after suffering a lower-body injury in Wednesday's opener. He was injured shortly after sending Milan Lucic head-over-heels with a hip check near the team benches.
