Boston Bruins look to dominate Vancouver Canucks with David Pastrnak in top form

David Pastrnak is playing his best hockey of the season at exactly the right time for the Boston Bruins. The star forward scored twice in Boston's 6-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers and will look to continue that production Saturday night when the Bruins visit the Vancouver Canucks.

Pastrnak has been on fire lately with six goals and six assists over his last 10 games. That kind of offensive output from a player of his caliber makes Boston extremely dangerous, and the Canucks will need to find a way to slow him down if they want any chance of winning at home.

Boston Bruins look to secure their playoff spot with victory over Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver has been terrible at Rogers Arena this season, posting just a 4-12-2 record in front of their home crowd. The Canucks are 16-20-4 overall and struggling to find consistency in any area of their game. Their one bright spot over the last 10 games has been solid defensive play, giving up just 2.7 goals per game.

Boston enters the matchup with a 21-18-2 record but has been inconsistent on the road with a 9-10-1 mark away from home. The Bruins are coming off that impressive win over Edmonton and will look to build momentum with another strong performance.

The two teams met earlier this season, with Vancouver winning 5-4 in a shootout. Linus Karlsson scored twice in that victory for the Canucks, showing he can be a difference-maker in big games. He already has five goals and two assists in his last 10 games.

This provides the Canucks with some additional firepower ahead of their clash with Boston. Not to mention, the Bruins have been struggling on their back line lately. Their defensive mishaps have seen them allow an average of 3.6 goals per game over their last 10 games.

In that same stretch, the franchise has won only three games with a 3-5-2 record. The defensive breakdowns have cost the Bruins points in the standings and need to be cleaned up if they want to make a serious playoff push. But for that they will need their forwards to take up the charge.

Morgan Geekie remains the top offensive option for Boston with 25 goals and 16 assists this season, providing secondary scoring behind Pastrnak. Drew O'Connor has been Vancouver's top producer with 10 goals and six assists.

The Canucks need to capitalize when they score three or more goals, as they're 13-5-3 in those situations. Getting offense early and often against Boston's shaky defense could be the key to victory.

Puck drop is set for 10 p.m. EST on Saturday night at Rogers Arena. With Pastrnak playing at such a high level and Boston coming off a big win, the Bruins should have the advantage despite playing on the road against a desperate Canucks team looking for home success.

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