Canucks Army Post-Game: Marchand Leads Bruins to 6-3 Comeback Victory

It is never a dull affair when the Boston Bruins come to town. Tonight was no different. The memory of 2011 still runs too deep. The Canucks and the visitors traded chances and leads throughout the contest before Brad Marchand ultimately led the Bruins to a comeback win with a dominant third period. The Canucks took a 3-2 lead into the the final frame, only to see Marchand take over the game and stake Boston to a 6-3 win.

From a hockey standpoint, the opening 20 minutes of play were highly entertaining. The Bruins got on the board first after David Backes used his right skate to angle a Patrice Bergeron centering pass for his 14th goal of the season. Ryan Miller made the initial save, but Bergeron was able to retrieve the puck and send it back out to Backes.

The Sedins would work their magic later in the period. Working their way neatly up the ice, the twins would find Markus Granlund in the high slot. The Finn would fire a quick wrist shot past the blocker of Tuukka Rask for his 18th of the season.

But the trio weren’t finished. Less than 90 seconds later, Granlund would score again off of a beautiful passing play from the Sedins. The goal – with its crisp, cross-ice passing – was reminiscent of the Sedins’ glory days. A certain goal against Dallas came to mind.

The second period started out a little less exciting, but the Bruins still managed to tie the score. Jimmy Hayes appeared to end a 24-game scoring drought, tipping in a Zdeno Chara point shot, but further review determined he did not make contact with the puck. As a result, the hulking blueliner would get credit for the marker.

Undeterred, the Canucks would regain the lead courtesy of an Alex Edler goal. The Canuck defenceman would rush up the left wing and fire a shot on Rask. The Bruins’ goalie would let out a juicy rebound and Edler would fire it home from a sharp angle. Probably one Rask would want back.

The Canucks lead would not last long into the third, however. Canuck nemesis Brad Marchand would score in the opening minute on the power play to knot the game at three, moving him ahead of Brent Burns for fifth in NHL scoring.

Then, with about eight minutes left in the final frame, Marchand would follow up his previous effort with a brilliant goal and the play of the night. He catches Henrik just walking dully along, and then proceeds to slip the puck through Edler and then slides it into the yawning cage.

The Bruins continued surging, and David Krejci would provide insurance with his 19th goal of the season.

Marchand would then complete the third period hat-trick with an empty-net goal. Bruins win 6-3.

-Markus Granlund has had himself a very nice season. While many – including myself – were critical of the Shinkaruk-Granlund trade last year, it has turned out far better than almost anyone predicted. One can still be critical of the process (trading a higher-ceiling prospect with only one game of NHL experience for a lower-ceiling NHLer), but the trade has thus far worked out in the Canucks favour. Granlund has been a positive possession player and that is even more impressive in relation to his teammates. Nevertheless, the percentages have certainly driving his goal stats. His career shooting percentage, going into this season, was 12.6%. This year, it has improved to 17%. So yes, Granlund is likely due for some regression. But even when taking that into account he has become a much better overall player for the Canucks. And he had a great game tonight.

-Drew Shore made his Canucks debut tonight, one day after signing with the club. In 14:07 of ice time, he recorded one assist and a penalty. That penalty, however, resulted in the first Marchand goal.

-I must ask if there is some mistake, or was Ryan Miller playing again tonight? After the barrage of shots he face on Saturday versus Pittsburgh, this would have been as good a night as any to give him a little rest. It’s not as if Richard Bachman did not earn another start after his performance in Anaheim. Miller allowed five goals on 42 shots, but in his defence it was also a pretty loose game defensively for both teams. Poor guy could use a break, though.

-Brad Marchand will probably never be loved around these parts, but the fact remains he is now one of the top offensive players in the game. With the three goal performance tonight, he has tied World Cup linemate Sidney Crosby for the league lead in goals (35).

-Looks like Vancouver has surrendered home ice advantage in the best-of-35 series

-Thanks Murph

Thursday, March 16 vs Dallas, 7 PM PST. TV: SNET; Radio: TSN 1040