Going into Saturday night's game at the TD Garden against the Vancouver Canucks, things were lining up nicely for the Boston Bruins. They were playing a team that played the night before on Long Island and on the fourth game of a five-game road trip.
The Canucks were starting Kevin Lankinen, who was 0-5-1 in his last six starts. Despite all of that, Vancouver had won the first three games on their trip, outscoring their opponents, 9-2, and continued their torrid road trip by rallying twice to deal the Black and Gold a devastating loss. Now 1-1-1 on their five-game homestand, Boston faces a pair of must-win games Sunday night against the Ottawa Senators and Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens to salvage the homestand before a long road trip after Christmas.