Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser is being sent home from Boston to see a specialist about a lingering groin injury, and general manager Jim Benning said last season’s Calder Trophy finalist won’t play again until he is "100 per cent."
Boeser missed back-to-back games in Las Vegas and Phoenix two weeks ago due to soreness in his groin, which coach Travis Green said had existed since an Oct. 18 game in Winnipeg. Boeser played a full four-game homestand last week, scoring two goals and four points in a 7-6 victory Friday against the Colorado Avalanche, but was kept out of Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout loss in Detroit.
The Canucks play the Boston Bruins Thursday night.
"He’s going to see a specialist tomorrow," Benning told Sportsnet. "We just want to make sure we know what we’re dealing with here and if it’s something other than his groin, we want to find out. We’re trying to stay ahead of this because Brock is too important to us (and) we don’t want this injury to keep lingering. We want to make 100 per cent sure we’re dealing with the right thing."
Boeser scored 29 goals and 55 points in 62 games last year as a rookie. But his season ended a month early due to a broken bone in his lower back. He also underwent an off-season medical procedure on an injured wrist and was unable to fully train until July.
He failed to score a goal during the Canucks’ pre-season and had just two goals in 12 games to start the regular season before his breakout night against the Avalanche. He skated better in that game than he had since last season.
After returning to the lineup from his groin injury, Boeser told Sportsnet last week that he felt fine during games but was experiencing soreness after them.
Benning said Boeser had been medically cleared to play, and that the 21-year-old had assured staff that he felt "100 per cent."
Driven by another elite rookie, Elias Pettersson, the 9-6-1 Canucks are one game into a six-city road trip. Benning said it’s possible Boeser could rejoin the team before the trip ends next Thursday in Minnesota.
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