2011 Stanley Cup Finals: All the Pressure Is on the Bruins, Not the Canucks

The Bruins are facing a must- win Game 3. Already trailing 2-0 in the series, they know that any hopes of getting back into the series must involve winning Games 3 and 4.

If Vancouver can earn even a split in Boston, that will pretty much end any hopes of ending the Stanley Cup drought in Boston.

You can see the pressure and its effects when watching how the two teams react off the ice.

The Canucks are confident, relaxed and loose, just joking around and having fun. 

The Bruins look frustrated and tense, like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

On Saturday morning, the Bruins canceled their gameday skate, as they focused on trying to win Game 2.

Raffi Torres, who scored the game winning goal, was out on the ice for the Canucks' gameday skate, goofing around, laughing and high-fiving his longtime teammate Manny Malhotra.

One team was having fun. The other was presumably hard at work studying game tape back in their hotel rooms.

You can also hear the difference in their quotes as well.

Roberto Luongo might be deadly serious during games, but off the ice he is smiling and cracking jokes with the media, something you wouldn't have seen in earlier years.

When asked about his past experiences playing in Boston, Luongo smiled and replied:

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"Well, I played my first NHL game in Boston.  First wins, first shutout against the Bruins.  Yeah, pretty good history, I'd say."

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Luongo even had time to joke with Henrik Sedin almost scoring a disastrous own goal in the first period of Game 2.

Henrik told reporters that he tipped the puck towards his own net on purpose, because Luongo didn't seem to get enough shots in the warmup.

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"I thought I had a good warmup" Luongo grinned. "He tries to go 5-0 on me in practice all the time.  I was ready.  He wasn't going to beat me this time.  I was in the moment, getting ready for anything.  When Hank has the puck in front of the net, anything can happen."

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Goaltending is largely mental, so it isn't a surprise that Luongo is playing at the top of his game right now, at a time when he is relaxed and confident.

Luongo isn't the only one in the Canucks locker room in this state of mind.

Kevin Bieksa joked around with Torres after Game 1, telling the assembled media with a deadpan expression that while Torres scored a nice goal, his goal required much more skill.

Of course, Bieksa was referring to the crazy knuckle puck goal he scored in the previous game, one of the more bizarre goals in Stanley Cup history.

Even head coach Alain Vigneault is getting into the act, volunteering stories to the media about his problems telling his two-star players apart.

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"It took me three years to tell them apart.  I'm not proud of that.  The fourth year, when Danny got hurt, was out of basically my sight for about six weeks, I finally figured out what Hank looked like on a regular basis.  Then when I saw Danny again, I was really embarrassed that I couldn't tell them apart because they don't look alike at all.  They got two different personalities.  I'm not proud to say it took me three years to figure it out."

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The Canucks are playing well on the ice, and that is contributing to their demeanor off the ice. The Bruins are losing those little battle that are the difference between losing and winning, and that is showing off the ice as well.

The Bruins can't afford to make a single mistake. The Canucks on the other hand are on a winning streak and are halfway to the Stanley Cup. They aren't taking the Bruins lightly, but they know they have a margin of error to fall back on. 

That luxury allows them to play their game with confidence.

In a sport where a large part of the game is mental, that doesn't bode well for the Bruins heading back to Boston.