Canucks 2, Bruins 0: Kevin Lankinen saves day, Jake DeBrusk returns

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It’s never a normal night in the cavernous TD Garden.

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There are always subplots and screaming leather-lunged loyalists to remind the opposition that they suck. And, in their minds, nobody sucked more than Jake DeBrusk.

The former Boston Bruins winger marked his return by connecting on the power play in the second period to open scoring and provide a much needed swing of momentum for the Vancouver Canucks.

A Quinn Hughes point shot went off the stick of Conor Garland and DeBrusk was parked at side of the net for the easy backhand tap-in for his sixth goal of the season, which have all come on the road.

The goal was challenged by the Bruins for the position of Garland’s stick but overturned.

The ruling proved pivotal because the Canucks were being outshot 11-4 at the time — and 33-15 overall — and couldn’t keep relying on goaltender Kevin Lankinen to hold the fort. The impressive 2-0 victory gave the stopper his second shutout of the season and fifth of his career in the second stop of a six-game road trip.

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“It was a super weird game to be honest,” said DeBrusk. It was just one of those things were there were a lot of emotions. You see too many people you know and I was happy to get that one (goal) and I didn’t know if it was going to get called back.

“But they were all over us. They were throwing pucks from everywhere and there were rebounds and he (Lankinen) is the biggest reason we won. We have to do a better job in front of him.”

It was also the first triumph in Boston in the last five visits and memorable for the manner in which the Canucks handled the heat and would bend but not break. They also went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, but the Bruins simply got too many good looks.

“I felt pretty good,” said Lankinen. “Confident and felt like I was seeing the puck and tracking well and figuring the play in front of me. It was a good night. We battled hard and the defence did a good job blocking shots (17) and clearing rebounds. A great team effort.”

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Maybe Rick Tocchet put it best.

“He was first, second and third star,” said the Canucks head coach. “They made plays where they didn’t shoot and went cross ice and he just read it. He was really on tonight. We had some moments we’d like to have back, but Lanks was awesome.

“In 82 games, you’re not going to have pretty ones, but we’ll get out of here and take it.”

Here’s what we learned as Conor Garland added an empty-netter and as the Canucks improved to 8-1-0 on the road and 11-6-3 overall. They  face the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Lankinen to the rescue

It was one of those nights.

If Lankinen saw it, he was probably going to stop it. And if he didn’t see the puck, he was calm and in position to deny. Just ask David Pastrnak.

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The Bruins’ leading scorer had a trio of Grade ‘A’ chances through the first 40 minutes and when the first shot of the game wasn’t registered until 6:58 of the opening period — Lankinen turning aside Pastrnak — it was the sign of disturbing times for the winger.

Pius Suter would let a high slapper fly for the first Canucks shot at 7:46, but all the attention was at the other end.

Pastrnak was sprung on a breakaway, and as he tried to go 5-hole with a backhand deke, Lankinen closed the gap and then kicked out his pad in acrobatic fashion to keep the puck from coming back into the crease.

“That’s the part of goaltending that I always love, just scrambling and throwing technique and structure out the window,” said Lankinen. “It might have been my best (game) but make sure the next time I get the call I perform at the same level.”

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Lankinen was adept at sealing up the short side to ensure the Bruins wouldn’t establish position for a sharp-angle shot or be there for the rebound. It’s how Brad Marchand was denied on a second period power play.

And with the game on the line in the third period, Lankinen was larcenous on the Bruins power play.

He slid to his left to deny a Pavel Zacha wrister, then made a pad save and one-timer stop as Boston had four man-advantage shots. He then denied Charlie Coyle with a quick pad move.

“That’s part of the tracking and trying to be alert with what’s going on around the crease and just throw something at it,” said Lankinen. “I got lucky a couple of times.”

Boeser has rough night

The winger knew it was going to be a challenge to hit full stride and be in top strike mode Tuesday.

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Boeser missed seven games following a brutal illegal check to the head from Los Angeles Kings winger Tanner Jeannot on Nov. 7. He endured mandated concussion protocol, which at the outset meant doing nothing, until he could start to train and get his heart rate up without recurring symptoms.

It was the same when he started to skate and finally got into contact-jersey mode.

Boeser obviously hoped to replicate his presence the last time the clubs met. On Feb. 24 at Rogers Arena, he had six shots and scored twice, including the winner at 1:34 of overtime, in a 4-3 comeback victory over the Bruins.

On Tuesday, he showed some early rust in failing to get a puck out of his skate to set up a scoring chance.

He had a power play shot sail wide in the second period, lost his balance at one point, and then took a slashing minor in the same frame.

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And in the third, his interference minor midway through the final period gave the Bruins a second straight man advantage. Boeser finished with no shots.

Regardless, getting Boeser back in the fold is going to eventually be a big add because of his scoring ability and improved all-around game.

“Obviously, one of our best players and makes a ton of plays and can score from anywhere,” Garland said of Boeser, who had four goals in his previous game before the concussion. “It’s a huge add for us, especially playing a lot of tight games here for the next little bit.

“And he plays in crunch time really well, whether we’re up or down a goal. He has that calm presence and plays a lot of minutes.”

Allvin lauds Miller motive

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin has clarified J.T. Miller’s indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons. The Canucks centre left the club on Nov. 19, the day he was scheduled to face his former club in the New York Rangers at Rogers Arena.

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“First and foremost, I’m very proud of J.T. seeking help,” Allvin told Sportsnet earlier this week. “I don’t know if he said it, but I believe he is going to be a better person, better teammate and better hockey player when he returns. And we sure miss him, he’s such an impactful hockey player. I think we have and the league has all the right support to help him.”

There is no scheduled return for Miller. It could be after this trip or longer. It’s up to Miller.

OVERTIME — Dakota Joshua led the hit parade with nine and Sherwood had eight to increase his league-leading total to 133. Erik Brannstrom was moved up to the second pair with Tyler Myers while Carson Soucy slid down to work with Noah Juulsen.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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