Nilsson, Eriksson lift Canucks past Bruins

VANCOUVER -- Anders Nilsson made 44 saves in a surprise start to help the Vancouver Canucks defeat the Boston Bruins 6-1 at Rogers Arena on Saturday.
Nilsson, who got his second straight start because Jacob Markstrom felt ill after the morning skate, stopped 18 shots and had an assist when Vancouver scored four goals in the first period.

"It was plenty of time to get prepared," Nilsson said of the late notice. "I still had the whole day. I just prepared the way I normally do"
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Canucks highlights]
Nilsson made another 18 saves in the third period in his first win in nine starts since Nov. 30 (1-8-0).
"Even though the results haven't been going my way or the team's way, I'm feeling like my game has slowly been getting back to the way it should be and the way when I play my best," Nilsson said. "It was nice to be able to walk out of the game with the two points."
Loui Eriksson scored two goals, and Daniel Sedin, Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Nic Dowd each scored for the Canucks (23-30-6), who won for the second time in the past eight games (2-6-0).
"It's big," Eriksson said. "We know we have to keep doing that. I thought [Nilsson] was great for us and we scored some goals. We were playing against a good team."

Tim Schaller scored for the Bruins (35-13-8), who lost in regulation for the third time in 27 games (20-3-4). Boston remains second in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"Their goaltender was very good," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "This had the makings, it could have been one of those 6-5 jobs. I thought he was really good, we hit some posts, but at our end, it's crept into our game, we are loose. We've got to nip it in the bud."
Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was pulled after giving up four goals on eight shots in the first period, but three of the goals came on rebounds or broken plays in front of him. Anton Khudobin stopped 13 of 15 shots in relief.
"Those things happen but you have to deserve your bounces and [I] definitely wasn't at my sharpest," said Rask, who was 20-1-2 in his past 24 games. "I just have to look in the mirror and be better, it doesn't matter what happens in front of me."
Eriksson gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 2:00 of the first period on a rebound, and Sedin (10:54) and Horvat (11:50) scored 56 seconds apart to make it 3-0.

Baertschi was credited with the goal that made it 4-0 at 18:39 when his rebound went to Bruins forward Noel Acciari, whose clearing attempt went in off teammate Sean Kuraly's stick.
"We lost some one-on-one battles, both in front of our net and off the rush," Cassidy said. "You have to give them credit, they attacked the net, but we allowed them to."
At the other end, Boston hit the post three times in the first period.
"We played a pretty good game but we have to be honest, we got some bounces," Nilsson said. "The puck was bouncing our way tonight. It's nice to have that on our side."

Dowd made it 5-0 on a rebound 2:44 into the second period.
Schaller brought the Bruins within 5-1 at 2:57 of the third period, but Eriksson scored his second of the game, converting his own rebound while shorthanded at 11:53 for a 6-1 lead.

Goal of the game

Horvat's goal at 11:50 of the first period.

Save of the game

Nilsson's save on David Krejci at 8:35 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Khudobin's save on Baertschi's one-timer at 12:03 of the second period.

They said it

"I don't know if we were looking at the standings and thinking we had an easy night. … It was moments of brilliance and moments of 'who is this team out there, what are we doing' type of plays." -- Bruins forward David Backes
"It's always nice to get a lot of shots when you feel like you see the puck well. You feel like everyone is battling hard in front of you, keeping the puck to the outside. Tonight was one of those nights when I saw the puck." -- Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson

Need to know

Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller missed his sixth straight game with an upper-body injury but skated in a regular practice jersey instead of a non-contact jersey on Saturday and could return Monday against the Calgary Flames. … Vancouver sent forward Reid Boucher to Utica of the American Hockey League on Saturday after he scored two goals in eight games. … Boston had won seven straight road games. … This was the first of a season-long five-game trip for the Bruins.

What's next

Bruins: At the Calgary Flames on Monday (4 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNW, NESN, NHL.TV)
Canucks: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, ALT, NHL.TV)