Boston Bruins: Key matchup Bruins have to win versus Canucks

Perhaps the most important match-up for the Boston Bruins is the battle between Elias Pettersson and Patrice Bergeron.

It should present a unique challenge to Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins with Pettersson playing a quick skill-based game, while Bergeron meanwhile is a little older and a little more cerebral in his play.

Elias Pettersson surprised a lot of people with the second hardest shot in the All-Star Skills contest; as such, he must not be allowed the space to get his shot away. Let’s not also forget he was a competitor in the Fastest Skater the year prior.

Patrice Bergeron will absolutely have his work cut out just keeping up with the youngster let alone the way he can move the puck about on the ice. However, on the flip side of that, Patrice Bergeron is a veteran and used to play routinely against some of the slickest mitts in the league, let’s not forget Pavel Datsuyk was a long-time divisional rival.

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As such, maybe the Boston Bruins should have far less to fear than you might think. Patrice Bergeron has been the match of plenty of speedy, skill guys in the league and has the Selke Trophy collection to show for it!

This year Pettersson’s most consistent even-strength linemates have been J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. Miller has been on-fire this season, with an equal team-leading 14 points in January and is just as much of a threat.

However, this is where having someone like Brad Marchand that can get under an opposition player’s skin works in the Boston Bruins’ favour.

In the past few games, we’ve started to see the Brad Marchand that rival teams hate but the one we as Boston Bruins fans love. It seems that his shoot-out misfire has lit a fire under him and he’s back to aggravating the opposition, getting in goalie’s faces and just generally stirring the pot.

He offers a great option to focus on the likes of Boeser and Miller, though if the most recent Vancouver games are anything to go by, it’s actually going to be Jake Virtanen on the top line.

Between him and J.T. Miller, they play a bit of a crash-and-bash style of hockey, protecting the young Pettersson in the center. Not only are they able to track down the puck and do the dirty work, but they’re both able to get a shot away in an instant.

If they get going, there’s little doubt they’re going to try to get under Marchand’s skin so it’s going to be up to Bergeron to nullify the threat down the middle from the first puck-drop and prevent them from building the momentum!