VANCOUVER - Maxim Lapierre scored early in the third period and goaltender Roberto Luongo made 31 saves for the shutout as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 Friday night to move to within one win of claiming the Stanley Cup.
Lapierre, a grinding centre who the Canucks picked up at the trade deadline, broke a 0-0 tie at 4:35 of the third period.
Defenceman Kevin Bieksa shot a puck wide of the net that hit the back boards and bounced onto Lapierre's stick. He banked a shot off Bruins' goaltender Tim Thomas into the net for his second goal of the playoffs.
The crowd of 18,860 went wild while Lapierre danced on his skates.
The Canucks lead the series 3-2 and have a chance to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history when Game 6 is played Monday in Boston. A Game 7, if needed, will be in Vancouver Wednesday.
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