BOSTON — After putting only five shots on goal in the first period, the Boston Bruins took aim against Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo in the second and third.

Three of their shots got past Luongo and although only two of them counted for goals, that was more than enough offense for the Bruins to beat the slumping Canucks 3-1 on Tuesday night.

“The first period was a little bit of a tough period for us. I thought our puck management or how we move the puck around wasn’t great,” Boston Coach Claude Julien said. “It wasn’t really sharp but it got better in the second and third period, and that made a big difference.”

Boston led 1-0 after the first on Milan Lucic’s goal despite being outshot 9-5. Jarome Iginla and Daniel Paille added goals in the second period for the Bruins, and Tuukka Rask kept the Canucks from rallying with several saves on short-handed opportunities that could have invigorated Vancouver.

The biggest was stopping Daniel Sedin on a breakaway, which led to Iginla’s goal that put Boston up 2-0 with 12:01 left in the second period.

“It’s always good when they get a chance and you make a save and then your team scores right after that,” Rask said. “That was a good sign.”

Rask made 27 saves against the road-weary Canucks, who dropped their fifth straight.

Raphael Diaz scored the only goal for Vancouver, pulling the Canucks to 2-1 with 8:32 left in the second period.

Luongo stopped 29 shots for Vancouver and tried to take responsibility after the Canucks lost for the sixth time in seven games.

“I think this one’s 100 percent on me,” he said.

Canucks Coach John Tortorella, in his second game back from a 15-day suspension, said Vancouver’s struggles go deeper.

“I appreciate Louie saying that, but this is a team thing here that we’re going through and we’ll go through it together,” Tortorella said.

The Canucks kept it close until Paille scored on a breakaway late in the second period, then Boston controlled the final 20 minutes.