Team faces tough fact;Beating Canucks on draw not easy

Faceoff wins are the lifeblood of any hockey team's attack. Andwhile the Bruins have been very good on thedot throughout the regular season and playoffs, they'll be facingtheir stiffest faceoff challenge yet in the Stanley Cup finals.Vancouver led the NHL during the regular season in faceoffs witha 54.9 winning percentage, while the Bruins were tied for third at 51.9.The B's have been a little better in the postseason, winning at a52.3 clip, while the Canucks are at 50.4.'They're a great faceoff team, but Tampa (Bay) was as well.We're a good faceoff team, too,' said Chris Kelly, who has won 44 percent of hisdraws in the postseason. 'Faceoffs are obviously important. Theykind of set up the whole shift, and that'll be something that wefocus on.'Ryan Kesler has been Vancouver's main man on the dot in thepostseason, winning at a 54.7 percent clip, while Henrik Sedin (51.9) has been decent. But if theCanucks get back Manny Malhotra, who was thought to be lost forthe season when he suffered an eye injury March 18, that will be abig boost for them. At the time of his injury, he was clicking at arate of 61.7.The B's main faceoff man has been Patrice Bergeron, who has a 62.3 winpercentage. David Krejci has had his good nights and badnights, but his overall win percentage (51.7) is decent.Kelly said the B's will look at some video, but there's only somuch preparation they can do.'Obviously we'll go through their tendencies and see what theydo,tera gold,' Kelly said. 'But to get to this point, you almost will thatpuck back sometimes in the faceoff circle. It comes down to somenights your timing is there, and sometimes it's not.'Bench buddiesThis finals matchup pits two old friends in the coaches, the B'sClaude Julien and Vancouver's Alain Vigneault.'Alain and I are from the Ottawa area,' Julien said. 'We endedup playing together in the St. Louis organization as 20-,21-year-olds. We were actually good friends and hung around a lot,then our paths went different ways. But we always come back to thecity in the summertime and will bump into each other once in awhile. But we also text each other during the season, and nowthroughout the playoffs we kind of were cheering for each other -because we felt that throughout our career and what we're doinghere in Boston and him in Vancouver, expectations are high.'And to be able to get through all of that and meet in thefinals is great. But right now, that's where it ends. We're bothhere and right now both have a job to do, and I guess the next timewe talk it will be after it's all said and done.'Finals experienceKelly has been to the finals once before, losing to Shawn Thornton's Anaheim Ducks in 2007.'I think it's made me a better player, maybe made me appreciatea little more,' Kelly said. 'Getting to the Cup finals with Ottawawas a great experience and a great time and obviously somethingI'll cherish. But I think I've learned a lot as well, and hopefullyI take those lessons and move forward.' . . .The Canucks will have a few more days of rest going into theseries, but that may not be positive for them. Going back to 1999,when a conference finals series has gone seven games, the winner ofthat series has gone on to win the Stanley Cup. . . .Bruins fans are invited to see theteam bus off today at 1:15 from the Garden front parking lot.