BOSTON — Brad Marchand and Danton Heinen scored short-handed in the first period, and the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Thursday night in a matchup of the NHL’s top two teams.
Linus Ullmark stopped 17 shots for his first shutout of the season. Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha also scored, and Charlie Coyle set up both short-handed goals as the Bruins bounced back from a 4-1 loss to Calgary at home Tuesday.
''In our minds it feels like we've been struggling in our PK," Ullmark said. ''We haven't lived up to our standards. It was also something we talked about before the game. It's time to really buy in and do the right things, and do them properly. That's what they did.''
It was the eighth victory in 10 games for Boston, which tied Vancouver atop the league standings with 73 points.
Last season, Boston captured the Presidents' Trophy with NHL records for points (135) and wins (65). But the Bruins were eliminated by Florida in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
''Our PK hasn't been up to par with where we were this year,'' Coyle said. ''That's something we want to get better at.''
Thatcher Demko made 21 saves for the Canucks, but his nine-game winning streak was snapped. Vancouver had won 10 of 12, with one loss coming in overtime and the other in a shootout.
''I thought I maybe (could) have helped the team out in some of their chances a little better,'' Demko said. ''I didn't think it was a 4-0 game, necessarily. I think there's some things we can pick out to build on.''