Brock Boeser could return to play for the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NESN, SN) after the forward took part in a full-contact practice Monday for the first time since an upper-body injury sustained Nov. 7.
Boeser has missed seven games following a hit from Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot, who was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head and suspended for three games by the NHL Department of Player Safety. He resumed skating last Tuesday and three days later practiced with teammates in a noncontact jersey before joining them in Boston on Monday.
"Felt great," Boeser said Monday. "Anytime you get to go back out there with your teammates and be able to skate full contact, it's a nice little treat. … It was my first full-contact practice, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes and if all good, then hopefully I'm in [Tuesday]."
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said his status against the Bruins would be determined after they talked later Monday to ensure there were no setbacks.
"He hasn't had any the last bunch of days anyways, but we ramped it up a little bit today, so with these things you want to make sure," Tocchet said. "See if he's ready to go [Tuesday], but he looked good."
Boeser is in a five-way tie for the Canucks lead with six goals in 12 games and his 11 points are seventh. He was playing on the top line and power-play unit after setting NHL career highs of 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games last season. The 27-year-old has 395 points (185 goals, 210 assists) in 491 NHL games, all with Vancouver, which selected him in the first round (No. 23) of the 2015 NHL Draft.
"He's our scorer," Tocchet said. "Last year, this year, [Stanley Cup] Playoffs last year, so you're adding a guy that can instantly add offense, but we've got to stay with our identity of our team, and Brock is part of that. Brock plays the game really well without the puck. He's usually out there last minute of a game if we're up with goal, so you're adding a scorer, but you also adding a system guy, which is great."
The Canucks are without Boeser's usual top-line center, J.T. Miller, who has missed two games since taking a personal leave of absence and is not on a six-game road trip that started with a 4-3 win at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Boeser skated on a line with Danton Heinen and Teddy Blueger on Monday and said after he isn't overly concerned about conditioning.
"It's always hard to mimic game shape but they've bagged me a few times and pushed me really hard," Boeser said. "I've been working hard, and I've been feeling better and better out there and it's just really hard to judge until you step in that first game, and just got to make sure you keep short shifts and control it that way."
