"Watching their San Jose game, they worked hard, not a lot of luck in the second period finishing plays," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "I expect that they'll skate and they'll bump, they've got a good mix of young and old. That's what I expect, but we've tried to focus on our game most of the year. That's what we will do tonight and respect the opposition, play to our strengths."
Desite their place in the standings, the Canucks boast plenty of talent up front with veterans Thomas Vanek (16-23-39), Daniel Sedin (14-21-35), and Henrik Sedien (2-35-37), as well as rookie sensation Brock Boeser (27-22-49).
"I expect a good game. They've got a good forward group. We watched a little bit of video on them today," said Jake DeBrusk. "We haven't played them in a while. They look like they're a good transition team, offensive weapons leading with Boeser obviously. I know a couple of other guys on their team as well. We're expecting a hard game, especially in this building. We're looking forward to it."
Fellow rookie Charlie McAvoy played with Boeser at the United States National Team Development Program, as well as at the 2016 World Junior Championship.
"Right away I knew how special of a player he was. From there he kind of just took off, Minnesota [for] high school, USHL, and obviously in college [at the University of North Dakota]. He has a great work ethic. We were able to play on the World Junior team together my first year.
"All the success he's having, it's not too surprising. I've always thought he was a terrific player. To see him having such a great year it's exciting."
