The Bruins have outscored opponents 15-1 in the last two games and 17-0 at home.
View full sizeBoston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron celebrates his goal on Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo as Canucks defensemen Alexander Edler (23) and Christian Ehrhoff react during the second period of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.It doesn't get any better than this.
Boston Bruins. Vancouver Canucks. Saturday afternoon matinee at TD Garden in the epic rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Final.
It may be a new season, but Bruins fans are riding high right now and why not? Boston isn't only one of the hottest teams in the league going 23-3-1 since Nov. 1., but they are steam rolling over everyone. In its last two games, it's outscored opponents 15-1. In the last two games at TD Garden - a 17-0 margin.
Thursday Boston stomped on and humiliated the struggling Calgary Flames, 9-0 behind goalie Tuukka Rask who registered his third shutout in four starts. His 25 saves lowered his league-leading goals against average from 1.61 to 1.49 and rose his save percentage from .945 to .948.
Twelve Bruins contributed at least a point while seven of them recorded multiple points.
This is what fans are craving for Saturday. They want the domination to continue and what better team to face, but the hated Canucks who mocked the Bruins, took out one of their best players - Nathan Horton - in Game 3 of the Cup Finals, and called eventual Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Tim Thomas 'leaky'.
Yes, Boston got the last laugh when they took turns raising the Cup in Vancouver, but unlike last year, the Canucks aren't dealing with an underdog.
The Bruins of 2011-12 are a different team from a year ago. They know how to pressure their opponents, physically and mentally and instead of waiting minutes to score a second goal, it's done within seconds of each other. No matter what the score is they continue and to play Boston Bruins hockey with the same amount of effort whether it's 3-2, 7-0 or they're down 2-0.
Believe it or not Boston and Vancouver have a lot in common. For one, they both had sluggish starts. The Bruins found themselves in last place with a 3-7 record while the Canucks were 5-6 in October. Then Vancouver stringed together a five-game winning streak through the end of November and went 9-4-1 in December. This surge rose them to top spot of the Western Conference with 53 points (25-13-3), the same amount of points Boston has as it's sitting second behind the red hot New York Rangers (54 points) in the Eastern Conference standings.
Boston finished November without a regulation loss, which included a 10-game winning streak and 15-game points-streak until the Winnipeg Jets beat them 2-1 on the road Dec. 6. After another loss to Florida, the Bruins won seven more in a row.
It'll be interesting to see and feel what the energy will be like in the building. I'm sure Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Roberto Luongo (who is reportedly not starting), Alex Burrows, and Aaron Rome will be booed the loudest, but in the end, it's just another regular season game.
Amanda Bruno can be reached at abruno@repub.com
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