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Canucks host Bruins in pivotal Game 5 of Cup Finals

Jun 10, 2011 - 3:49 PM (Sports Network) -The reeling Vancouver Canucks will try to rebound from a pair of poor efforts in Boston when they host the Bruins in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight at Rogers Arena.

The Canucks left Vancouver with a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven series and had yielded just two goals to the Bruins over those home tests. However, Boston destroyed the Canucks by a combined 12-1 margin in Games 3 and 4 at TD Garden to even the series at 2-2.

Home ice has meant everything so far in this series with each team perfect so far in their own buildings. Furthermore, home clubs have posted a stellar 15-2 record in the Stanley Cup Finals since 2009. Vancouver boasts a 9-3 record at Rogers Arena in this postseason, while the Bruins are 5-5 as the road team.

The trick for the B's tonight will be to carry with them the momentum gained back home in Games 3 and 4. Boston was dealt a 1-0 loss in the opener of this series in Vancouver and suffered a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2.

Boston snapped out of the scoring slump with an 8-1 win in Game 3 and kept the pressure on with a 4-0 triumph on Wednesday. Rich Peverley ignited the offense with two goals in Game 4 and Tim Thomas made 38 saves to notch his fourth career playoff shutout. It was also the first Boston shutout in the Stanley Cup Finals since May 18, 1978, when Gerry Cheevers blanked Montreal in Game 3 of a six-game Canadiens victory.

"The way he battles, he never quits on any pucks," Boston coach Claude Julien said about Thomas. "Even to the point where he can let a bad goal in every once in a while or a couple, when you know the game is on the line you know he's going to be standing on his head at the end."

Michael Ryder and Brad Marchand scored 2:18 apart in the second period for the Bruins to stake Boston to a 3-0 lead. Peverly added his second tally of the contest early into the third period to account for the final margin.

Roberto Luongo, coming off a wobbly performance in which the Vancouver netminder surrendered eight goals for the third time in his career, didn't play the entire 60 minutes in Game 4, as he was pulled in the third period after stopping just 16 of 20 shots. Corey Schneider stopped all nine shots sent his way in relief of Luongo.

Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault said Thursday that Luongo will be starting tonight's game.

The Canucks need a win tonight to prevent the Bruins from getting a chance to clinch the Cup when the series shifts back to Boston for Game 6 on Monday. Vancouver, which won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top team in the regular season, will host a decisive Game 7 on Wednesday, if necessary.

"We worked hard all year to get home-ice advantage and this is where it's going to serve its purpose," Luongo said. "We want to make sure we get playing the way we did in the first two home games, establish tempo and take it to them."

Boston won the last two games despite losing lost top-six forward Nathan Horton to a severe concussion early in the first period of Game 3. Horton is out for the duration of the playoffs after sustaining the head injury on a late hit by Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome, who also is finished after being hit with a four-game suspension.

"Watching (Horton) go down, we want to finish what we started," Thomas said. "For him, but we also want to do it for ourselves."

Rookie Tyler Seguin, a healthy scratch for Game 3, returned to the lineup Wednesday in place of Horton and collected one assist. Keith Ballard replaced Rome for Vancouver in Game 4 and was a minus-2 in under 16 minutes of ice time.

Another Canucks defenseman, Dan Hamhuis, is expected to miss his fourth straight game tonight with an undisclosed injury suffered in the opener of this series.

Vancouver has never won a Stanley Cup title and is in the Finals for the first time since 1994 when they were ousted by the New York Rangers in seven games. The Canucks are not only carrying the hopes of a city and franchise, but also those of a nation. A Canadian team hasn't lifted the Cup since Montreal defeated Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings in 1993.

The Bruins, meanwhile, have won five Stanley Cups, but none since 1972. They are 0-5 in the Finals since then, the last loss coming to Edmonton in 1990.