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The Vancouver Canucks continued their winning ways on the road on Tuesday night, shutting out the Boston Bruins 2-0 at TD Garden — and goaltender Kevin Lankinen was a big reason why. The Finn made 32 saves in the triumph, helping the Canucks win their eighth straight away from home.
Lankinen is the fifth goalie in National Hockey League history to begin a season 8-0-0 on the road, according to Sportsnet Stats, and the first Vancouver netminder with a shutout in Boston since Corey Hirsch did it in January of 1996.
“I give a lot of credit to the guys in front of me,” the 29-year-old said afterwards, per NHL.com's Joe Pohoryles. “I think that’s been a part of the game that we’ve been kind of working on, making sure we stay committed, and I think that’s what we showed tonight. Everybody was putting their body on the line, and best case happens and we win the game.”
The Canucks blocked 26 shots in the contest, improving to 11-6-3 on the 2024-25 campaign in the process. Now with eight consecutive victories on the road, Vancouver is just one game shy of the record, which was set between March 5-29, 2011.
“Lankinen was, you know, First, Second and Third Star,” head coach Rick Tocchet said, per Pohoryles. “He was very good tonight. Saw the puck extremely well. … They’re tough saves he made tonight, really tough.”
Lankinen was certainly the catalyst of the victory on Tuesday night, but it was also a big return to Boston for Jake DeBrusk. The 28-year-old was drafted by the Bruins No. 14 overall in the 2015 NHL Draft and spent seven seasons in Massachusetts before inking a seven-year pact with the Canucks in July.
Canucks' Jake DeBrusk scores against former team
DeBrusk scored the game winner in the tight contest, potting the rebound from a Quinn Hughes shot on the powerplay in the second period. That's all the Canucks would need, although Conor Garland sealed it into an empty net in the waning seconds.
“That was probably the weirdest game I’ve played probably since my first-ever game,” DeBrusk admitted, per Pohoryles. “That was my mental state, but the guys were great. Kept me in and kept cheering me on and stuff.
“You can think about anything you want to think about, but once push comes to shove and you’re on the ice, it’s about getting the two points. Obviously it means a lot to a guy like me to pull out the win. I thought they played a great game, actually. I think that’s the best I’ve seen them, shooting pucks from everywhere, and we just kind of played a defensive style.”
It was Joe Sacco's first loss behind the Bruins bench since taking over for Jim Montgomery; he had guided the club to back-to-back victories over the Utah Hockey Club and Detroit Red Wings last week.
For the Canucks, they'll have a chance to tie the franchise road record on Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
