Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser sidelined with upper-body injury following hit

Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser on the ice after taking an illegal check to the head from Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot (not pictured) during an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Jayne-Kamin-Oncea / AP / The Canadian Press)

The Vancouver Canucks will be without star sniper Brock Boeser for at least one game.

The 27-year-old right-winger was hurt Thursday when he was hit in the head by L.A. Kings forward Tanner Jeannot in the neutral zone.

Boeser was not on the ice when the Canucks (7-2-3) took morning skate ahead of Saturday's game against the Edmonton Oilers (6-7-1).

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said the forward was being evaluated for an "upper-body injury."

Head coach Rick Tocchet said he spoke with Boeser briefly on Saturday morning.

"He doesn't feel great, but I wouldn't say it's horrible. So I think right now he’s indefinite," Tocchet said. "We'll see. These things, they change in a week or 24 hours, I don't know.”

Boeser had just played the puck when he was levelled midway through the first period of Vancouver's 4-2 win over L.A. on Thursday.

He did not appear to see Jeannot coming and spent several moments on the ice before getting up and skating off on his own. He did not return to the game.

Jeannot was given a match penalty for the play, then handed a three-game suspension by the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Friday.

“I mean, it's dangerous. It's a dangerous play. And hopefully Brock will be OK," Tocchet said of the hit.

Boeser's absence leaves a large hole in Vancouver's lineup as the Canucks begin a six-game homestand.

The six-foot-one, 208-pound player from Burnsville, Minn., has 11 points in 12 games this year and leads the team in goals with six.

Last season, Boeser put up career highs in goals (40) and points (73), and was Vancouver's leading scorer in the playoffs before a blood clot forced him to miss Game 7 of a second-round series against the Oilers.

"Obviously, any time that he's not here … you definitely feel it," said Vancouver winger Jake DeBrusk. "And it takes the next man up mentality. Guys get different opportunities, different looks and that's kind of what the game of hockey is all about.

"So, it's one of those things where can't do exactly what he can do, but at the same point we try.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.