BOSTON — Eddie Lack has a losing record as a National Hockey League goaltender. But for what looks like at least the next month, he’s apparently the guy being counted on to bring the Vancouver Canucks into the playoffs with starter Ryan Miller hurt.
So far, so good.
Lack, who replaced Miller early in the second period and stopped all 27 shots he faced, 19 in the third period, in a 4-0 win over the New York Islanders Sunday, stopped 40 of 41 shots Tuesday night as the Canucks moved to 3-1 on a five-game eastern trip with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins.
“I always thought Eddie was good,” coach Willie Desjardins said of the 27-year-old Lack. “He was so good the other night against the Islanders, he was unbelievable there and he just followed up again tonight. He made some real big saves for us.
“It’s good to see, you like to see a guy getting hot.”
The win raised Lack’s career record to 23-24-7. But in his last seven outings, he is 4-1 (he didn’t get the win on Long Island because the Canucks were ahead when he entered the game) with a .940 save percentage.
Lack gave up a rebound goal to left winger Daniel Paille 1:05 into the game and was then perfect as the Canucks beat the struggling Bruins for the second time in 12 days.
Right winger Zack Kassian, a healthy scratch nine times since Christmas, scored the winner, his fourth goal in the last three games after joining the Sedin twins on the top line with Alex Burrows hurt. He beat Tuukka Rask with a slap shot 6:47 into the third period, snapping a 1-1 tie and the Bruins, who ended a six-game losing streak with a resounding 6-2 win at Chicago Sunday, couldn’t tie it up.
The Sedins, Henrik and Daniel, both drew assists on the winner, even though the goal was scored by Kassian after he retrieved an errant pass from Daniel. The talented pair has combined for 16 points in the last five games.
“We got some big saves from Eddie when we needed it, and we capitalized on our chances,” said Kassian.
Defenseman Ryan Stanton scored the other Vancouver goal as the Canucks improved to 6-2 over their last eight games to strengthen their hold on second place in the Pacific Division.
Paille, a healthy scratch in the two previous games, scored his first goal in 37 games and registered his first point in his last 17.
Rask also played well, making 26 saves for the Bruins, who are hanging onto the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“You never can accept losing,” Rask said. “But we feel like our game has been going in the right direction the past few games. We just fell short. I guess we used all the goals last game.”
It was the 13th time this season the Bruins scored one goal or less.
“He was square. He had a good night,” center Patrice Bergeron said of Lack. “I think we can be better with making it a little harder for him to see the puck. I thought we had some good chances, good shots, but not enough traffic maybe.”
Both teams struck early as two of the game’s first three shots went in.
Paille converted a rebound 65 seconds into the game, but the Canucks tied it 2:21 later. Right winger Jannik Hansen (seven points in the last seven games) left a drop pass for Stanton, whose shot appeared to hit Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg before beating Rask.
Stanton appeared to cover a loose puck in the crease in the second period but no penalty shot was called. Bruins coach Claude Julien, who was behind the Boston bench for the 600th time, said he received an explanation but wouldn’t say what it was.