Canucks to keep close eye now on East Finals

VANCOUVER -- After watching the first five games of the Eastern Conference Finals as fans trying to relax for a few hours during a stressful time, the Vancouver Canucks will have a keen interest in Game 6 between Boston and Tampa Bay on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; Versus, CBC, RDS).

If the Bruins win, they will be the Canucks' opponent in the Stanley Cup Final. If the Lightning win, it's up for grabs and the Canucks will have to wait until Friday to learn which Eastern Conference foe is coming to town.

Vancouver did its part by beating San Jose 3-2 in double overtime Tuesday to win the Clarence Campbell Bowl.

"We've watched a little bit, but more as fans than an opponent," Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows said of how much attention the team has paid to the Eastern Conference Finals. "Obviously now we'll try to pick up on a few things and hopefully it goes to four OTs (Wednesday), then maybe a Game 7 and another four OTs. We'll see."

The Canucks were 0-1-1 against the Bruins and Lightning this season, losing 5-4 in overtime to Tampa Bay on Dec. 11 and 3-1 to Boston on Feb. 26.

Steven Stamkos scored a power-play goal 34 seconds into OT to lift the Lightning past the Canucks. Vancouver native Milan Lucic scored the winner for the Bruins 15:22 into the third period.

Of course, none of that matters anymore. It's the playoffs and the Western Conference champions now have to pay some attention to what's happening back East.

"We've been watching games throughout, but I don't think that we've been paying tons of attention as far as systems," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. "I think we've just been trying to enjoy the hockey. In between our games you try and get your team ready. There's a lot of work that goes into that, but at night you got to try and get away. For us, being hockey guys 24/7, the best way to get away is to enjoy the games. Throughout these playoffs, there have been great series, very entertaining. It's fun to watch.

"We'll try to enjoy this tonight. Once we know who we're playing then we'll get ready for them and try to make the adjustments we need to make there."

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter: @drosennhl