VANCOUVER - After the disappointing end to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals for the Boston Bruins, Head Coach Claude Julien spoke with the media:

On the Alex Burrows biting incident:

"I haven't seen it, to be honest with you.  I haven't had  time  to look at that stuff right now.  I'm going by what Patrice told me.

Obviously  there  was  something that happened.  I guess I'll save my comments for after I see it.

But  if that's the case, it's a classless move, not something players should be doing at this level anyway."

On the Canucks controlling the third period:

"Yeah.  I think we played a real good road game, to be honest  with  you.   To  be  in  the situation we were after two periods, I didn't mind it, especially against this hockey club.

I  thought  our  PK  did a great job against their power-play.  Timmy made  the  big  saves  when he had to.  Like I said, for two periods, I was pretty pleased.  Obviously, third period they were the better team and they ended up scoring that goal.

It got away from us, but we still got an opportunity here in the next game to hopefully get that one and kind of get the home-ice advantage."

On the again impotent Bruins power play:

"Again, I think our power-play was better tonight than it  had  been  in  a while.  We spent a lot of time, we had some shots, had some  opportunities,  had  some  chances.  

We didn't score.  

Obviously when your power-play isn't doing well, people are going to criticize because you didn't score."

VANCOUVER - After the dramatic end to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Raffi Torres of the Vancouver Canucks had a few good quotes:

On his game winning goal: 

"Well,  just obviously Kes pulling up there, making a heads-up  play,  holding  onto  that  puck.   For  me just seeing that, him throwing it over to Hansen there.  Just got to get open.  Made a great play there  to get  it  over, was fortunate enough to get it in the back of the net."

Reflecting that last summer he was unemployed and unwanted until signing with Vancouver in late August:

"Yeah,  you  know,  it  was a long summer.  Obviously the phone wasn't ringing  off the hook too much.  But everything happens for a reason.  I've tried  everything  in my power to put it behind me.  Had some great support along the way.  Just in a very fortunate situation right now.  

For a chance to  reach our  ultimate  goal, which is winning the Stanley Cup, it's been quite a ride."

On the improved play from Vancouver's third line, consisting of Jannik Hansen, Maxim Lapierre and himself:

"For  us,  we feel like we've been gaining confidence throughout  the  whole  series.  I thought Jannik and Lappy had a hell of a third period to go along with a pretty solid game. For us, it's pretty simple hockey, getting pucks deep, trying to work their  D.   Like  I  said, our confidence is pretty high right now."

On Manny Malhotra, and how Manny helped him regain his edge after the infamous Keith Seabrook hit in the first round:

"Manny  has  been  nothing but a positive influence on me throughout the season and throughout the course of the  playoffs.  

He's just one of those guys that said, Hey, Raffi, just go out there and relax. At the end of the day, your game is a meat-and-potato type  of  game.  Don't try to do anything out of the your element.  Just go out  and play hockey, which is north/south, getting pucks, feet moving.  

He kind of puts that into my head every day."

VANCOUVER - After the dramatic end to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Alain Vigneault had a few good quotes:

On the injury to Dan Hamhuis:

"He's day-to-day." When asked a second time, "He's fine."

Expect Hamhuis to play in Game 2 then, as the Canucks and Bruins have two off days.

On the great play of the third line consisting of Jannik Hansen, Maxim Lapierre and Raffi Torres:

"Yeah,  they  were strong.  They played the way we want  to  play:   fast,  north/south, took pucks to the net.  They had some grade A scoring chances.

I  really  liked  both  Max  and  especially  Jannik's speed tonight. Obviously  there  was a  weapon.  Raffi had a couple of nice hits tonight, obviously clutch at the right time."

On the nasty edge to the penalty filled game:

"Well, with what's at stake, I expect both teams to want it real bad.  That's what we saw tonight."

Rich Lam/Getty Images

VANCOUVER - Raffi Torres scores a nice goal off a superb pass from Ryan Kesler with mere 19 seconds left to play in the third period to break open a 0-0 deadlock.

It seemed like an overtime goal, because with the goalie clinic that Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo were putting on, there was only ever going to be a single goal in this game.

Three Stars of the Game:

1st: Roberto Luongo (36 saves in a shutout)

2nd: Tim Thomas (33 saves in a losing cause)

3rd: Raffi Torres (Game winning goal)

Rich Lam/Getty Images

VANCOUVER - At the end of the first period, there were several players paired off after Tim Thomas was run at the whistle. Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks were the pair that took the longest to be separated by the officials.

Bergeron received a minor for roughing, but Burrows received a double minor. 

No explanation was given in the arena, but the internet is abuzz that Burrows apparently bit the gloved finger of Bergeron when the two were exchanging face washes as the officials tried to separate them.

Here is the video, I'll let you be the judge.

I have no idea how the NHL will rule on this. On ice it was called a simple roughing minor, if indeed that is what the extra minor was for. The extra penalty could have also been because the officials had to take several minutes to disengage the two combatants.

This might be the first test for Brendan Shanahan as the new head of discipline.

VANCOUVER - Dan Hamhuis levelled Milan Lucic with a huge hip check in front of the Boston bench that drew a crowd on the ice. It also had the crowd in the stands on their feet.

People should cheer for Vancouver to win the Stanley Cup just for bringing the hip check back into style.

Aside from the Hamhuis hip check, Keith Ballard of the Canucks has also provided a pair of highlight reel hip checks against Jamie McGinn of the San Jose Sharks and Jordan Tootoo of the Nashville Predators

Rich Lam/Getty Images

VANCOUVER - Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks are proving they were worthy of their Vezina Trophy nominations. They are putting on a goaltending clinic tonight in Game 1.

Luongo has been the busier of the two goalies, as Boston has had the majority of the power play time tonight.

However, Thomas has had to make the more difficult saves, despite his lesser workload. 

Near the end of the second, the shots are 25 to 19 in favour of Boston.

It is worth noting that Thomas and Luongo are tied for the lead in playoff shutouts this spring, with a pair each.

This might end up being a game where the first goal wins, because neither goalie looks like he is going to give one goal, let alone multiple goals, tonight.

Harry How/Getty Images

VANCOUVER - The skytrain ride in almost three hours prior to game time was packed with fans in jerseys and Canucks gear, talking about the game on their way downtown.

The plaza outside of Roger's Arena was packed with cheering fans and media. There are multiple areas around Roger's Arena where the city of Vancouver had set up giant outdoor screens to watch the game.

CBC's Vancouver headquarters are just a block area from the stadium, and they have also set up an outdoor screen in the plaza outside their building.

The entire atmosphere around the arena and in the downtown core is reminiscent of the 2010 Olympics.

18,000 people on their feet singing the Canadian national anthem is a unusual sight. Canadiens aren't often very patriotic, except when it comes to hockey.

The crowd didn't seem daunted or afraid when Daniel Sedin took a double minor for high sticking early in the game, or later on when the Canucks continued to parade to the penalty box.

If this had happened versus Chicago in the first round, the building would have been dead quiet with fear the team was about to implode and lose the game.

Maybe it is Boston's impotent power play, or maybe the Canucks fans are just confident that their team will win. 

Is this new found confidence or arrogance on the part of Vancouver fans?

Harry How/Getty Images

VANCOUVER - So far Boston has had a ton of powerplays, including a 5 on 3 to early in the second period, as Vancouver has taken eight minors. Boston in comparison has been a model of discipline with only a pair of minors.

The Bruins have had a lot of shots from the outside, but are continuing their trend of being impotent on the power play.

On the other hand, Vancouver's Ryan Kesler has had a few short handed breakaways and shorthanded scoring chances.

The Bruins win on quantity of chances, but Kesler shorthanded has had the better opportunities when the Bruins had the man advantage.

This is starting to look a little bit like those Nashville games in the second round when Kesler just took over.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

VANCOUVER - Roger's Arena is a fortress for the Vancouver Canucks… at least in Game 1's.

The Canucks earned home ice advantage in the playoffs by winning the President's Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team.

They are taking advantage of home ice to start each series, jumping out to a 1-0 series lead with a win in Game 1 in each of the three preceding series against the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks.

The Canucks have never trailed in a series, in large part thanks to their pivotal Game 1 wins. 

During the game day press conference, Canucks captain Henrik Sedin spoke on the advantage of winning Game 1 in a seven game series.

"Well, I think it's a really big game. It means apart from being up 1-0, it gives you confidence, it shows you can play against the other team. You don't really have to change a lot of things.

You go out, you're up 1-0, the next game they're going to have to make adjustments to beat you. That's an advantage, for sure."

More so, in those three Game 1's, Roberto Luongo has played some of his best hockey of the playoffs. He has a 0.66 GAA in Game 1's, including a pair of shutouts against the Blackhawks and Predators.

Another Canucks to watch in Game 1 is Chris Higgins.

Higgins is playing on the second line with Ryan Kesler, and has a modest four goals so far. However, three of his goals are game winners, including the game winning goal in Game 1 for both the first and second rounds.

Will the Canucks continue this trend and win Game 1 tonight?

Harry How/Getty Images

VANCOUVER - The commonly held belief about the Vancouver Canucks going into the 2011 playoffs was that they were a small, skilled team. In other words, a team unsuited for the rigors of physical playoff hockey.

Conversely, the Boston Bruins were lauded for a return to the "big, bad Bruins" style of years past.

Led by power forwards Milan Lucic (6'4" 200 pounds) and Nathan Horton (6'2" 229 pounds), and towering defenceman Zdeno Chara (6'9" 255 pounds), the Bruins were supposed to batter opposing teams into submission.

But perception and reality are can be drastically different.

The Vancouver Canucks are bigger and badder than the Bruins, as hard as that might be for the Boston faithful to believe.

The Canucks are the bigger team. Yes, Chara is a giant. But with an average height of 6'0" and average weight of 200 pound, the Bruins are hardly all cast in the same mold as Chara.

Conversely, the Canucks average height is 6'1" and average weight is 201 pounds.

There are eight Bruins under 6' in height, versus only three Canucks under that bar.

So the Bruins are the smaller team, at least by a small margin.

In terms of physicality, the Canucks are also head and shoulders ahead of the Bruins.

Through 18 games each, the Canucks have thrown 151 hits more hits than the Bruins, 596 to 445. The Canucks are throwing 34% more hits than the Bruins.

In terms of individual players, the top ten players for playoffs hits includes five Canucks, two San Jose Sharks, two members of the Lightning, and only a single Bruin. 

Maxim Lapierre (63), Kevin Bieksa (62), Ryan Kesler (56), Alex Edler (55) and Chris Higgins (48) all have recorded more hits than Milan Lucic (43), the leading hitter for the Bruins.

In short, anyone claiming that the Bruins are the bigger or tougher team needs to take a hard look at the statistics, because it clearly isn't the case.

VANCOUVER - One way or another, a franchise will end a lengthy Stanley Cup drought. The Boston Bruins have not won the Cup in 42 years. The Vancouver Canucks have not won the Cup ever in franchise history.

In short, I'm picking the Canucks in six games. The Canucks are deeper, faster, bigger and tougher than the Bruins, as hard as that might be to believe.

The Canucks will bring home the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. The Bruins will have to wait a little longer to end their 42 year drought.

If you are interested in comprehensive preview, check out the link below.

A comprehensive preview of the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals 2011 Stanley Cup Finals: The Definitive Vancouver Canucks-Boston Bruins Preview

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VANCOUVER - It was a feel good story, but it appears that the return of Manny Malhotra has been postponed, at least temporarily.

On Saturday May 28th, Manny Malhotra was cleared to play after his devastating eye injury. Or at least that is what we were told by Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault.

On Monday May 30th, the Canucks had a practice and Malhotra was conspicuously absent. It was reported that he had a doctor's appointment about his eye.

Was Malhotra suffering a setback?

Or was this simply a case of having to work around the surgery schedule of a specialist?

In lieu of a game day skate prior to Game 1 tonight, the Canucks instead made several of their players, along with Vigneault, available to the media in a brief press conference.

When asked about the status of Malhotra, Vigneault had the following statement:

"Manny is the same as he was yesterday. He's day to day. Not skating today."

Later, it was clarified that Malhotra that cleared for full contact in practice, but not for actual games. Usually if you are cleared for full contact, you are cleared for games at the same time. But in this case, with such an unusual and potentially life-altering injury, clearly the doctors and the Canucks organization are taking the uttermost care.

The Sedin twins had a few words to say about their injured teammate at the press conference. 

"It would mean a lot," Daniel Sedin stated. "Even when he's been injured, he's been there, been with the team, given advice to players, been in the locker room. He's been there all the time. But I think having him play and having him in the locker room would mean a lot to our team."

Henrik Sedin concurred: "He's a guy that can help us no matter how many minutes he plays. He's been so key to our faceoffs and PKs."

With Game 2 set for Saturday June 4th, Malhotra will have another few days to practice, and hopefully be cleared. He means a lot to the team, both on the ice and in a leadership role.

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VANCOUVER - The games are starting. Not the actual Stanley Cup Finals, but the games of brinkmanship by the coaches.

The Bruins cancelled their game day skate totally, and the Canucks made theirs an optional, with the emphasis on optional. Only seven skaters and two goalies took the ice, and the most notable skaters were ones that aren't expected to dress tonight in Cody Hodgson and Tanner Glass.

Apparently both coaches felt that after a week off, the players needed to rest up before tonight's 5 PM start to Game 1. Well, that and they wanted to deny the opposition one last chance to scout their lineups.

Based on the optional skate, it can be safely assumed that there will not be any significant changes to the lines and defense pairings for the Canucks.

Canucks Lineup:

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows

Chris Higgins - Ryan Kesler - Mason Raymond

Jannik Hansen - Maxim Lapierre - Raffi Torres

Jeff Tambellini - Alex Bolduc - Victor Oreskovich

Dan Hamhuis - Kevin Bieksa

Christian Ehrhoff - Alex Edler

Sami Salo - Aaron Rome

Roberto Luongo

Cory Schneider

The Bruins will be having a press conference shortly. I'll update their expected lines after that if Claude Julian reveals anything.