Canucks win with 18.5 seconds left

Associated Press

vancouver, british columbia

Raffi Torres scored on an exceptional pass from Jannik Hansen with 18.5 seconds to play, and the Vancouver Canucks dramatically beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 Wednesday night in the Stanley Cup finals opener.

Roberto Luongo made 36 saves in his third shutout of the postseason for the Canucks, but Boston’s Tim Thomas matched him until Torres, who is the only Vancouver player with previous finals experience, slipped through the defense for a beautiful goal that launched a wild celebration at Rogers Arena.

Thomas stopped 33 shots for the Bruins, who went scoreless on six power plays. Boston played outstanding defense until the NHL’s highest-scoring team finally connected in the final minute.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Vancouver.

Boston also killed six Canucks power plays in an outstanding defensive game led by captain Zdeno Chara, but Torres’ goal ended the 37-year-old Thomas’ shutout streak at just under 129 minutes.

He hadn’t allowed a goal since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, shutting out Tampa Bay in Game 7.

Ryan Kesler’s pass set up the final-minute scoring sequence in a tense, tight-checking game featuring stellar defense and bad-tempered play by both clubs.

Canucks forward Alex Burrows even appeared to bite the gloved finger of Boston’s Patrice Bergeron after the first-period buzzer, raising the possibility of a suspension for the Canucks’ rambunctious first-line wing.