Coming into Thursday’s game against the Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks had allowed 177 shots on goal in their four previous contests.

After their morning skate Thursday morning, Matt Bartkowski and the Canucks talked about puck management and making better decisions with the puck. In their 4-2 win over the Bruins, the Canucks did just that–managed the puck better.

The Bruins, on the other hand, did not. From start to finish the Bruins were sloppy with the puck, especially in their own end and it came back to haunt them as their three-game win streak was snapped.

“Yeah, that was my take on it, some puck management or some sloppy plays and a lot of giveaways and turnovers,” head coach Claude Julien said following the loss. “Didn’t think we were at our best here tonight.”

Decisions with and away from the puck were poor, and it ultimately cost them in a game where the Bruins erased one-goal deficits twice including Sven Baertschi’s first period goal 3:27 into the game. Vancouver didn’t play a bad game by any means, but they were helped a ton by the Bruins sloppiness.

Denna Laing honored before puck drop

After a nice video tribute Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, the Bruins honored Laing with a video of their own, but in this one, Laing thanked the crowd and everyone else. The video tribute was put together very well and really lifted the spirits of everyone inside TD Garden.

“I have a lot of hard work in front of me, but I’ve never been afraid of a challenge,” Laing said.

After receiving a visit from Bruins’ Captain Zdeno Chara, Laing relayed the message Chara gave to her.

“Don’t ever give up,” Laing added. That’s right, Denna, “don’t ever give up.”

David Krejci returns to lineup

After missing 10 games with an upper-body injury, Krejci returned to the Bruins lineup and was placed back in his usual spot on the Bruins second line centering Loui Eriksson and David Pastrnak. In his first game back, Krejci was far from his best, but it was good to see him back in the lineup Thursday night. Krejci finished the night a minus-one, had one shot on goal and won seven of 17 faceoffs in 18:44 of time on ice.

As Krejci continues to get his legs back under him and his game gets back to where it was prior to his injury, the Bruins offense should continue to progress.

Rough night for Pastrnak

After scoring once and adding an assist in just over seven minutes of ice time in Montreal Tuesday night, Pastrnak took a step back Thursday against the Canucks. Starting on the second line, Pastrnak was demoted to the third line before ultimately finding himself on the fourth line–the same spot he found himself in Friday night.

Despite picking up an assist on Jimmy Hayes’ second period tally, it was a night to forget for Pastrnak.

“In Dave Pastrnak’s case, I know he had an assist tonight, but you know I think he had about four or five giveaways there, unforced errors,” added Julien. “He’s playing against top lines, and we need players to be better in those areas, so I tried to put a little bit more experience to play against that.”

Spooner moves back to the third line

In Krejci’s absence, Ryan Spooner was asked to step up and fill the void left by Krejci. Spooner was excellent in that role, helping the Bruins stay afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. With Krejci back, Spooner found himself back in usual position centering the Bruins’ third line.

Spooner picked up an assist as well on Hayes’ goal and used the confidence gained with his increased playing time to be a better forward on Thursday night.