Traveling to Boston to See the NHL Standings’ Top Two Teams Face Off.

Following a win over one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Canucks travel to Boston to face off against the number one team in the conference.

The Vancouver Canucks built on their strong record of late, picking up a win on Tuesday night bringing their point streak to 12 games with a 10-0-2 record.

Thursday’s game will be the first of two matchups between the Bruins and Canucks this month. The teams will battle again on February 24th at Rogers Arena. With the Canucks at 73 points and the Bruins at 71, Thursday’s game will be a matchup between the top two teams in the NHL standings.

The Bruins hold a 16-5-3 record on home ice this season and are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. The Bruins have not lost back-to-back games in regulation on home ice this season and are amid their longest homestand of the season. Thursday’s game will be game two of seven consecutive home games for the Bruins.

On the road, the Canucks hold the league’s second-best record at 16-7-3. They are in game two of a five-game road trip and this matchup against the Bruins is certainly one that will garner attention as both teams have had a great first 50 games of their seasons.

We will see two of the league’s best goaltender duos matchup on Thursday. The Bruins have Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark to choose from while the Canucks have Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith to battle against the Bruins. Swayman and Demko are both in the conversation for the Vezina trophy this season. Each of Swayman and Demko have at least a .920% save percentage while Demko has picked up five shutouts to Swayman’s three.

The Bruins have almost used their goaltenders equally this season. Swayman leads the way with 27 starts but Ullmark is just behind him with 23 of his own. As for the Canucks, Demko has made 36 starts and DeSmith has 14.

Offensively, the Bruins are led by All-Star forward David Pastrnak. The 27-year-old right-winger sits third in the league with 73 points and is third in goals with 33. Much of his production comes with the man-advantage. Pastrnak has 11 power play goals this season, along with 18 power play assists. His 29 power play points are tied with J.T. Miller for fourth in the league.

The Bruins’ power play is fifth in the league and clicking at 26% this season. The Canucks will need to be disciplined because the Bruins have had eight games this season where they have scored multiple power play goals.

With an 82.1% penalty kill percentage this season, the Bruins rank 10th in the league, meaning special teams will be crucial once more. The top minute-eaters on the back end are Brandon Carlo and Hampus Lindholm, while Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand lead the penalty kill unit.

Regarding the backside, the top pairing consists of Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk. McAvoy leads the Bruins in average ice time per game (24:31) and racks up minutes on the power play.