The pace in Vancouver was a little less frantic for the Boston Bruins than the back and forth contest they had in Calgary 24 hours prior.

It was a pace that they didn’t mind.

“These are the kind of games that we need to play to win,” Brad Marchand said to the media about the B’s style of play against the Canucks that included a steady defense and a good physical presence.

“When we’re playing back and forth games and run and gun [hockey] it doesn’t play to our favor. So we got to continue to play like this.”

From start to finish, the Bruins dominated play and earned their first victory over the Canucks at Rogers Place since capturing Lord’s Stanley Cup four years ago. Here are a few things that we learned from the B’s 4-0 victory on the final stop of their three-game trip to Western Canada on Saturday night.

Marchand scores in 400th NHL game

It didn’t take long for Marchand to pick up right where he left off. Following a two-goal effort in Calgary, the sixth-year Bruin, skating in his 400th NHL game, added his 13th of the season just 2:54 into the contest.

Marchand ended the night with five shots on goal, two blocked shots and was a plus-3 in 19:20 of ice time.

“It was a great milestone, and it was good to get a win in the process,” Marchand told reporters in the visiting locker room afterward. “You know, hopefully, there are many more games to come and just another memory along the way.”

Throughout his career, Marchand has had stretches of hot streaks. The current pace he’s sustained — eight goals in his last nine games — is an indicator of how much he means to a Bruins team in transition. His on-ice play and the example he is setting as a veteran presence in the B’s locker room are both encouraging to see.

Prust’s spear of Marchand needs to be looked at by the league

Marchand’s performance didn’t come without controversy, however. Towards the end of the game, former Canadien Brandon Prust speared Marchand in an area that can be described best by No. 63 himself.

“He just gave me a jab and got me in the fun spot,” Marchand said about the incident.

Marchand did take another shift after getting speared in the “fun spot.” Whether the league looks at Prust’s spear or not remains to be seen. Given the situation, it should be. With the game out of reach, Prust’s actions were cheap and unnecessary.

Julien still looking for right line combos, D pairings

Unhappy with the way the first two games of the trip turned out, the ninth-year Bruins bench coach shook things up with his lineup in hopes of rolling four lines and three defensive pairs for 60 minutes. Jimmy Hayes, who has one goal in his last 16 games, was the healthy scratch up front. Dennis Seidenberg and Colin Miller, who had their share of issues as a D pairing, were also scratched. Meanwhile, Zac Rinaldo played after being a healthy scratch against the Flames, as did Kevan Miller in his first action since November 17th, and Joe Morrow, who last skated in game action on November 5th.

Miller and Morrow both recorded assists in their first game since November.

“It felt great to get back out there,” said Miller, who logged a season high 25:01 of ice time. “It’s tough to watch even when they’re winning and losing, and you want to get back in there as soon as you can. So, it felt good to get back in.”

Rinaldo, meanwhile, recorded 13 penalty minutes and engaged in a spirited bout with Derek Dorsett just 2:07 into the contest. Coming off two disappointing losses against the lowly Oilers and Flames, the fight gave the Bruins some early energy and a positive impact. Marchand scored 47 seconds later and from there the Black and Gold dictated the tempo.

Blue-line responds after McQuaid leaves game

Following a shot that hit his left hand in the first period, Adam McQuaid skated right to the locker room. He did not return to the game after logging 2:42 of ice time and the Bruins only skated with five defensemen the rest of the way. The B’s defense, which has been a work in progress all year, faced that adversity nicely and only allowed 17 shots on goal.

Tuukka Rask, who came in for a relief appearance in Calgary, got an easier workload, and he can certainly thank the D in front of him for doing their job against the Canucks.

“We jumped on them quick in the offensive zone, defensive zone, and the neutral zone,” Rask said to the press after notching his third shutout of the season. “That helps eliminate the offense from the other team, and we kept them outside and kept things tight in the D zone too. So it was good.”

We’ll see if McQuaid will be able to go when the Bruins return to TD Garden to face the Nashville Predators on Monday night.