Bruins release lineup for clash with Canucks

Those of us who still vividly remember the legendary 2011 Stanley Cup Final between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins always look forward to seeing the two teams get back together on the ice.

The fortunes of the two teams haven't quite been the same since that fateful meeting 13 years ago (wow). Other than one down season of 2014-15, the Bruins have been in the playoffs every year since then, and came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2019 before falling on home ice in Game 7 (experiencing the pain Canucks fans felt against Boston) against the St. Louis Blues.

The Canucks went through a tumultuous phase that included disastrous tenures from the likes of John Tortorella and Travis Greene behind the bench, along with the infamous Bruce Boudreau saga. But all of that now seems like a distant memory thanks to the success that Vancouver is experiencing this year, leading the Western Conference in points with a pristine 34-11-5 record.

The two teams will face one another tonight at TD Garden, and while there are no players left on the Canucks from the 2011 roster, the Bruins still feature notorious pest Brad Marchand, who was but a rookie on that Cup winning team in '11 but is now the grizzled veteran captain in Beantown.

Take a look at tonight's projected lineups via Bruins Hockey Now:

Forwards

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk-Pavel Zacha-Jake DeBrusk

Jakub Lauko-Morgan Geekie-Trent Frederic

Danton Heinen-Jesper Boqvist-Oskar Steen

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort-Parker Wotherspoon

Goaltenders

Linus Ullmark