When the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks left Vancouver for Boston in that lengthy flight, it seemed like the Canucks might be primed to take control of the series even though they barely earned their wins. That concept didn’t hold for very long, though, as the Bruins rode the anger and inspiration that came from watching their big goal scorer carted off on a stretcher to turn around this series in a jarringly demonstrative way.
Now the Canucks hope to get their acts back together – and the series lead with it – back in the friendly confines of Rogers Arena. Of course, that venue won’t be a very friendly place to Roberto Luongo if he flops for a third straight game. (If he does start as Alain Vigneault claimed, that is).
Boston @ Vancouver (NBC) – 8 p.m. ET; Series tied 2-2
The only lineup change of note is another shuffling of Vancouver’s defensive sets, as raw rookie Chris Tanev will take Keith Ballard’s place as Ballard coughed up a disturbing array of turnovers. As much as Luongo is (rightly) blamed for letting in some softies and falling apart, the Canucks’ defense hasn’t exactly been rock solid, either.
The Bruins harnessed the negative energy from being down 2-0 and being without Nathan Horton to crush Vancouver at home, but can they duplicate that success on the road? We’ll see soon enough.
For more on this pivotal Game 5, check out this bevy of PHT content.
- Here is a detailed recap of Game 4.
- The Bruins turned the tide of this series (at least temporarily) by tying things up.
- What would be on a mix tape of Luongo’s misery? Here’s the answer to a question you probably never asked.
- As strange as it may seem, Rome’s hit on Horton might have hurt the Canucks as much as (if not more than) it hurt the Bruins.
- While many wonder about Luongo’s mental makeup, it’s just as easy to ask if Tim Thomas is in the heads of Canucks shooters.
- Brad Marchand is finding the right balance between annoying his opponents and annoying goalies by scoring plenty of points.
- The Bruins are truly in this series, prompting Boston fans to raise their expectations.
- Can Claude Julien continue to push all the right buttons without the benefit of home ice advantage (and thus, the last line change)?
- There’s plenty of slightly older content from previous games that holds up very well today. For more primer posts, click on the corresponding links for Game 1, Game 2, Game 3 and Game 4.
