VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Canucks finally have an opponent for this week’s Stanley Cup Finals, though the Boston Bruins are hardly a familiar foe.
When the teams drop the puck for Game 1 on Wednesday, it will be just the sixth meeting between the teams in six seasons. That includes a game in Vancouver just over three months ago, even though few of the Canucks recalled much from that 3-1 loss.
What all of them remembered after the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final on Friday night were goalie Tim Thomas and defenseman Zdeno Chara.
Several singled out Chara, Boston’s 6-foot-9 Norris Trophy nominee as the best defenseman, and Thomas, their acrobatic Vezina Trophy finalist as the league’s best goaltender.
“Solid ‘D’ led by the big guy and one of the best goalies in the league,” said Alex Burrows, one of Vancouver’s top-line forwards. “They play a great defensive system.”
Boston surrendered the second-fewest goals in the regular season, behind only Vancouver.
The Canucks got a big emotional boost Saturday when coach Alain Vigneault said center Manny Malhotra, out since March 16 when he was hit in the left eye by a puck, has been cleared to play.
