VANCOUVER, British Columbia — It was a special night for Landon Ferraro.
Playing in his hometown, in front of family and friends, the Boston Bruins’ center scored one goal and assisted on another in a 4-0 NHL win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 17 shots for the shutout as the Bruins halted a two-game losing skid on a three-game swing through Western Canada. The previous losses came in a shootout against Edmonton and overtime in Calgary, but the Bruins were in control all night against Vancouver.
“It was huge,” said Ferraro. “It went from having two points on a road trip to having four. That’s a really good West swing for us.
“Even when we were on a five-game winning streak we had wins that we probably didn’t deserve. Since I have been here this is the best game we played. We got pucks in, we got on the forecheck, kept it simple and got pucks to the net. We are really happy to end it on this note.”
Ferraro was picked 32nd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 draft. He played 10 games for the Red Wings this year before being placed on waivers, where he was claimed by Boston.
Ferraro, who is the son of former NHL player and TV analyst Ray Ferraro, moved to Vancouver when he was 10. His parents, grandparents and friends were in the crowd and watched him score his second goal of the year.
Defenseman Zdeno Chara started the play, hitting Ferraro with a pass just outside the Boston blue line. Ferraro skated down the ice and fired a fluttering shot over the glove of Canucks’ goaltender Jacob Markstrom that gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead midway through the second period.
“It was exciting,” said Ferraro, who celebrated by punching the glass behind the Vancouver net. “You always dream about scoring a goal in front of your family, in your hometown.
“I got a little too excited. I punched the glass a little too hard. That didn’t feel too good. It was pretty special for sure.”
Left winger Brad Marchand, defenseman Torey Krug and right winger Tyler Randell also scored for Boston (14-8-3).
The shutout was Rask’s third of the season and 29th of his career.
Vancouver didn’t generate many scoring chances, but Rask looked sharp in the third period, blocking a shot from the slot by Canucks center Bo Horvat.
“They had a couple of chances that missed the net and I don’t know how many scoring chances, maybe four or five,” said Rask.
“We were on them all over the ice and that takes a lot of offense away from them. Today was a great example of Bruins hockey.”
The Bruins are 6-0-2 in their last eight games and improved to 9-2-2 on the road.
It was another frustrating night for the Canucks (9-11-8), who lost their fifth consecutive game and 13th in their last 16. It also was the 14th time in 16 games that Vancouver has allowed three or more goals.
Left winger Daniel Sedin said the Canucks need to simplify their game.
“Maybe guys feel the pressure to score a little bit,” he said. “That’s when you try to make a play every time you get the puck.
“The only way we are going to score … is to get pucks deep and make the other team turn it over. Right now we are the team turning the puck over and the other team is getting easy scoring chances. Right now we are working way too hard for nothing.”
It wasn’t a great night for Markstrom. The Canucks’ backup allowed four goals on 18 shots.
Marchand scored on Boston’s first shot with 2:54 gone and the Bruins led 2-0 after just four shots.
“It was a tough one,” said Markstrom, who was making just his second start of the season at home. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been this disappointed.
“You need a hot goalie to come in and play really good to help you. We need something, we need a spark. I know this group has it. We are having a rough time finding it now. We have to stick together.”