VANCOUVER -- Brock Boeser did not play for the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Coach Rick Tocchet did not specify what is ailing Boeser and said there was no timeframe for his potential return.
"I don't want to get into Brock's injury right now," Tocchet said Monday. "I just yesterday found out he won't be available. Basically that's it. He's being evaluated, he's probably going to be evaluated again, so I don't have a timeframe."
Boeser did not practice Sunday after he played 18:40 in a 5-1 loss to the Oilers in Game 6 on Saturday. Forward J.T. Miller and defenseman Tyler Myers also did not practice, but Tocchet said after that it was a “maintenance day” for each.
Boeser leads the Canucks with seven goals, which is tied for fourth in the NHL, and is tied for first on the team with Miller with 12 points in 12 games this postseason. The 27-year-old forward plays with Miller and Pius Suter on the top line, which has been matched up against Connor McDavid at even strength, and has also been a key part of Vancouver's first power-play unit.
"It’s always tough to hear,” Myers said. “He's obviously bummed but he'll be fine and guys just have to step up. It's part of its part of playoffs. You're going to lose guys at different times for different reasons and it's an opportunity. we have to look at it like an opportunity for other guys to step up and step into a role and be excited for it."
The Canucks have been struggling to score. They had 15 shots on goal in a 5-1 loss in Edmonton in Game 6 on Saturday and are averaging of 21.1 shots per game, last among the 16 teams that made the playoffs. The Canucks have averaged 2.58 goals per game in the playoffs, which is last among the five remaining teams and well behind an Oilers team tied for first at 3.91.
During the regular season, Boeser set NHL career highs in a number of offensive categories, including goals (40), points (73), power-play goals (16), power-play points (25) and plus/minus (plus-23). He played in 81 games, missing only the regular-season finale to rest before the playoffs began.
His breakthrough season came after overcoming personal tragedy.
Boeser admittedly came to resent hockey after his job kept him away from his father, Duke, as he battled Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and dementia before passing away on May 27, 2022.
“It was just really tough the last few years. I wasn't home much other than in the summer, so I think I resented the game for a bit,” Boeser told NHL.com in November. “Hockey wasn't fun, and I think I just had to really realize what our dream was when I was a kid, and that was to play in the NHL. It's not hockey's fault that it got in the way.”
Boeser even asked for a trade last season but changed his mind and rescinded the request, crediting Tocchet, who was hired on Jan. 22, for adding shutdown defensive responsibilities shortly after the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline.
“Playing under [Tocchet] and being in that role at the end of the year, I started to find that drive and felt really good as a hockey player again,” Boeser said. “In that time, I started feeling more like myself again, and that's when it switched.”
Boeser is the second impact player to miss time for the Canucks this postseason. Goalie Thatcher Demko, who is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, has not played since Game 1 of the first round against the Nashville Predators because of an undisclosed injury.
"It's amazing when you lose a player like that, your lineup is weaker just without a top player," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said on Sunday. "I've seen it numerous times, but it's amazing how guys step up. Everyone steps up, and collectively sometimes you're just a better team. In the long term it's not the recipe for success, but ... we're going to be ready. Obviously, [the Canucks] are missing a good player. We anticipate that's going to happen, but we have to anticipate a team that's going to be really stepping up their game."
The winner of Game 7 between Vancouver and Edmonton will advance to play the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final, which will begin with Game 1 on Thursday.
NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report
