Earlier this week, Canucks winger Brock Boeser was sent back to Vancouver for evaluation on a groin injury. The results of his testing are in and while it’s not great news, it could be a lot worse. Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province reports that Boeser has been diagnosed with an adductor muscle strain and has been ruled out for the remainder of their current road trip which wraps up on Thursday. Head coach Travis Green stated that his official prognosis is that he will be out week-to-week.
This has been a lingering issue in recent weeks for the 21-year-old so the fact that there is now some more clarity and detail as to what the specific problem is certainly a positive. Now, the Canucks will be hoping that Boeser makes a quick recovery as he is one of their top players in the early going this season with 11 points in 13 games and they will need him healthy if they want to hang on to their position atop the Pacific Division.
Elsewhere out West:
- Stars center Martin Hanzal has been cleared for contact and skated with the team for the first time this season on Friday, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News. He underwent spinal fusion surgery back in June and has been out since then. The original timeline for his return was early December but if he has the green light already, he may be able to make it back a little earlier. Hanzal’s first season in Dallas was nothing short of disastrous due to frequent injuries but if healthy, he can still be an effective player down the middle, particularly at the faceoff dot.
- The initial diagnosis for Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was that he’d be re-evaluated in two weeks as he is currently out with a lower-body injury. That mark quietly passed on Thursday and there still hasn’t been any further update from the team. However, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentions that Bortuzzo has yet to resume skating, suggesting that his return to the St. Louis lineup is far from imminent. The 29-year-old has played in just five games this season but with Jay Bouwmeester continuing to deal with nagging hip issues, they will certainly be looking forward to his return.