As Canadian train derailments go, this pales in comparison to the Penny Wreck, the Mississauga Miracle, or the Cheakamus River Derailment, but for Canucks fans, losing Brock Boeser in this game still feels pretty catastrophic.
The Canuck train was rolling, more or less, after a much-needed win over the San Jose Sharks. Erik Gudbranson was hyping up the Canucks’ mood in the room and everyone suddenly believed in the Sedins as elite players again. The tank got a little lighter and the bandwagon, a little heavier.
Then, with one shot block, the game and the season went completely off the rails. Boeser took a shot off the inside of his left foot and collapsed to the ice in agony before crawling back to the Canucks’ bench. The game itself receded from view, the events on the ice barely registering, but I still did my best to watch this game.
- Up until the fateful moment, the Canucks were playing pretty well. Shots were fairly even after the first period, the Canucks were creating chances, and Jake Virtanen was making a nuisance of himself, drawing a penalty on Travis Hamonic in a post-horn scrum. It wasn’t anything to write home about — the Canucks were still down 1-0 heading into the intermission — but like a Barack Obama campaign rally, there were hopeful signs.
- That Hamonic penalty turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing. The Canucks turned the puck over and the Flames started back on a shorthanded rush. When Boeser went down, I initially assumed it was a right-side defenceman — bad, but manageable. It took me a moment to remember that the Canucks were on the power play, so the man at the point was Brock Boeser and this wasn’t just a stroke of bad luck, but an entire painting’s worth.
- On two or three other occasions in this game it appeared that a player was potentially badly injured. Each time, the referees stopped play to ensure the injured player received proper attention and could leave the ice safely. And every time it reiterated how galling it was to see Boeser struggle to the bench in obvious pain while the play continued around him. Poor form, refs.
- Canucks fans fired through the five stages of grief in rapid succession. There was denial: “He’s fine, he probably just broke a skate blade and needs to get it fixed.” Then anger: “Why did Travis Green send him out to block shots?! What do you mean it was a power play?!” Bargaining came when it was announced he wouldn’t return: “It’s okay to lose this game to make sure he’s healthy for the rest of the season. It must just be a precaution.” Depression: “Cancel the season. Cancel Christmas. Cancel everything.” Then finally, acceptance: “All in for Dahlin, everybody!”
- For those wondering, it appears that Boeser was wearing skate-guards, the over-the-laces plastic protectors that are meant to prevent injuries from blocking shots. You can see the black straps that go under the boot as he T-pushes his way to the bench. He’s also clearly wearing them in some photos. While there are other photos that show him without the guards, I’m pretty sure he had them on when he blocked the shot. Unfortunately, if the puck hits in the right (or wrong) place, the guards can’t do much.
- Travis Green was his usual stoic self, even as you could actually lip-read Canucks trainer Jon Sanderson saying, “He can’t put any weight on it,” when he came out of the tunnel. Green’s expression somehow remained completely unchanged.
Followed by #Canucks trainer Jon Sanderson telling Green that Boeser "can't put any weight on it" pic.twitter.com/0WiAZzCVHc
— Vanessa Jang (@vanessajang) December 18, 2017
- The same can’t be said for Jim Benning. His face embodied, “You’ve got to be ****ing kidding me.”
mood pic.twitter.com/A7I6LA1qqO
— Jason Botchford (@botchford) December 18, 2017
- Along with his foot (probably), Boeser’s scoring streak broke. Boeser had points in five straight and surely would have tallied another, perhaps on that same power play, if he hadn’t been injured. He still leads all rookies in scoring, but that won’t last long if he’s out for any length of time.
- After the game, Michael Del Zotto said that he pulled Boeser aside and told him not to change the way he played and to keep blocking shots. Respectfully, you take that back right this minute. Blocking shots does have some utility and it likely buoys the boys to see a skilled player take one for the team, but if there’s one player who shouldn’t be blocking shots, it’s the point-per-game rookie upon whom all of your playoff hopes rest. Of course, Boeser is so positionally sound that he’s always in shooting lanes, so the shot blocks will inevitably happen.
- I guess the rest of the game also happened. It hardly seemed to matter and the Canucks themselves seemed to feel the same way. After a pretty even first period, shots were 29-10 the rest of the game. It got particularly bad in the third period, as the Canucks got out-shot 19-4. The Canucks deflated faster than a bouncy castle at a hockey tournament.
- Jake Virtanen took Boeser’s spot alongside Sam Gagner and Loui Eriksson. It was like asking George Lazenby to replace Sean Connery as James Bond.
- Jacob Markstrom looked a little off in this game, once again struggling to establish some consistency after a great outing against the Sharks. He didn’t get a lot of help from the skaters in front of him, but he should have stopped at least one of the two short side goals he allowed and 21-year-old 18-year-old Sam Bennett’s 5-0 goal was stoppable too. It didn’t matter much: keeping the score close had ceased to be a relevant concern.
- The Canucks did get one goal, a power play marker that kept that streak alive without Boeser, at least. Alex Edler made a really nice pass to Markus Granlund, who rang the post before potting the rebound. Can Granlund step up to replace Boeser’s scoring? No.
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Ugh.
