The Vancouver Canucks wrapped up a successful three-game road trip to California with three wins, but a potential major setback looms larger than the victories themselves.
The Canucks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night, but the focus quickly shifted to the health of forward Brock Boeser.
Boeser was hit in the head by L.A.’s Tanner Jeannot midway through the first period, leading to a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for Jeannot for the dangerous play. Boeser left the game and didn’t return, with concerns growing over a possible concussion.
While the win was significant, it overshadowed what could have been the Canucks’ most complete performance of the season.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet kept his comments brief, describing the hit as “obviously a dangerous play.”
What stood out as somewhat odd was the lack of immediate retaliation from the Canucks after the hit. In today’s game, even clean hits often spark a response, but no one challenged Jeannot following his late, away-from-the-play hit. The most likely reason is that the players on the ice didn’t see the hit in real time.
Tocchet, however, expressed pride in how his team responded to the loss of one of its key forwards.
“It was a next-man-up situation. Brock’s a huge part of our team, and he plays a lot. But I thought the guys did a great job stepping up,” Tocchet said, noting that Conor Garland played a season-high 22:43 minutes of ice time.
The Canucks now return home for a six-game homestand, beginning on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena. After the Oilers, Vancouver will face Calgary, the New York Islanders, Chicago, Nashville, and the New York Rangers.
This homestand, along with another six-game stretch starting on December 6, will be the longest of the season for the Canucks. While it’s still early in the year, picking up at least eight points from these next six games will be crucial for the team’s overall success.
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