Saturday night showdown between Canucks and Bruins on Hockey Night in Canada

With two games remaining on their longest home court of the season, the Vancouver Canucks host the Boston Bruins for another Hockey Night in Canada game on Saturday evening.

JT Miller returned to the Canucks’ lineup in Thursday night’s 4-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Miller received two assists on his return and helped the power play finish 1-for-2 on the night.

Kevin Lankinen picked up a clean sheet for the third time this season, battling with Connor Hellebuyck and Sam Montembeault for the league lead in shutouts.

The Canucks are now 10-0-3 entering the second intermission with a lead and we see the team now has a record of 15-8-5.

Jake DeBrusk scored his 14th goal of the season, ranking him 17th in the league.

Quinn Hughes now has 34 points this season and leads the NHL with 1.21 points per game as a defenseman.

The Bruins come to Vancouver with a record of 15-13-3 and are 7-4-0 since hiring Joe Sacco as head coach. They are currently on their longest road trip of the season, losing 8-1 to Winnipeg on Tuesday before losing 5-1 to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

Quick hits to the competition

• It was important for the Bruins to score the first goal on the road. They are 4-0-1 when they score the first goal, but 2-7-0 when the opponent scores the first goal.

• David Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points. He also leads the team with four power play goals and is well above the rest of his team with 126 shots on goal.

• Charlie McAvoy is the leading man of their defense corps. He averages 23:47 of ice time per game and scored five goals in 31 games played.

• The Bruins are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL’s third period, outscored 19-34 so far this season.

• Their power play is at 12.6%, which ranks last in the league.

• In the shootout, they converted 77.1% of their penalties, ranking 22nd in the NHL.

• Jeremy Swayman started 21 of his 31 games this season. He has a 9-10-2 record with a save percentage of .885% and a goals-against average of 3.27.

• Brad Marchand had the hottest bat on the Bruins. Marchand has scored seven goals in the last 10 games.

The Story: Building on the team’s identity

Head coach Rick Tocchet liked how every player in the lineup contributed Thursday night against the Panthers. He felt the defensive team was weak and believes Thursday’s game was a good step in the right direction for the group.

We saw the fourth line on the ice for two goals on Thursday and Max Sasson got the first multi-point game of his young NHL career. The Canucks have played 28 games and have had 20 different players score a goal this season. Tocchet liked the lineup of Sasson, Teddy Blueger and Danton Heinen, and the return of JT Miller helped move everyone further down the lineup.

Although Thursday night was a big win for the Canucks, Tocchet wants his team to stay balanced and while they can enjoy the win, the focus must be on what lies ahead.

“This team has been hit by adversity and both good and bad things have happened this year and I like the fact that we are over .500% in seven games. We’re fine. We have good players here. “We are a good team and will find our game,” said Tocchet after the game on Thursday.

Tocchet wants his players to continue playing with commitment even without the puck. Given the depth of the roster, the head coach believes internal competition will be great for the organization.

“There is a rotation committee,” Tocchet said. “We have that luxury and it keeps people on their toes. If you play well, you stay in it. That’s what internal competition does.”

The Canucks’ top performers in the last five games

Quinn Hughes: 2g-4a-6p
Brock Boeser: 2g-3a-5p
Elias Pettersson: 1g-4a-5p
Jake DeBrusk: 4g-0a-4p
Conor Garland: 0g-4a-4p

When and where to see

Saturday night’s game begins at 7:00 p.m. PT and you can watch it on Hockey Night in Canada or listen to the radio talk with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.