Stanley Cup Finals: What to Expect from the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4

Well, that was unexpected. The Vancouver Canucks were the better team, albeit by a small margin, though the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Coming back to Boston down 2-0, I expected the Bruins to play their best game of the series and take Game 3. You don't get to the Finals and then roll over and let the other team sweep.

But I didn't expect the Canucks to lose by touchdown.

That was embarrassing for the Canucks, and you can expect them to bounce back in Game 4.

Alain Vigneault spoke with the media after the game about moving on after a loss:

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"In the playoffs, a loss is a loss.  You lose in OT or you lose like we did tonight, it's a loss in the loss column.
        We're going to take tomorrow to analyze certain aspects of our game, then we're going to come here on Wednesday and we're going to get ready to play a good game."

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Canucks captain Henrik Sedin also spoke on how the magnitude of the loss was embarrassing, and how it would spur the team to come back even harder.

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"It's not fun. We have a lot of pride in here and to do that in the playoffs, that's not fun."

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The Canucks have not lost back to back playoff games since the first round against Chicago, almost six weeks ago.

Since then, they have always answered back a win by Nashville or San Jose with a Canucks win in the following game.

Will they be able to do the same against Boston?

Expect the Canucks to come out hitting, forechecking and skating with a purpose like they did in the first two games, and as they did in the first period of Game 3.

One key factor in the upcoming games will be the absence of both Nathan Horton and Aaron Rome.

Horton, the Bruins best forward in the playoffs, will be out for at least a week with the NHL's concussion protocols, although the good news is that he has full movement of his limbs, so there wasn't any spinal damage.

Rome will most likely be facing a multi-game suspension for the late hit that injured Horton.

Whether the Canucks head back to Vancouver up 3-1 or tied 2-2, you can expect Game 4 to be much more competitive.