Boeser healthy, thriving again for Canucks

NASHVILLE -- It had been a frustrating night for Brock Boeser and the Vancouver Canucks.

For the first 55 minutes Thursday, the Nashville Predators gave the Canucks little room to skate and create offense. Despite coach Travis Green moving Boeser around on different lines to try to get him some open looks, the 21-year-old forward was limited to two harmless shots on goal before the Canucks went on the power play with 4:49 remaining, trailing by two goals.
That was the opening Boeser needed. Alexander Edler fed Boeser for a one-timer from the top of the left circle that beat goaltender Pekka Rinne over his catching glove to pull Vancouver within one with 4:05 remaining.

Bo Horvat's goal with 43.5 seconds left forced overtime before the Predators pulled out
a 4-3 victory
when Colton Sissons scored 3:05 into sudden death, but the Canucks earned a point after it appeared they'd get none.
Vancouver (14-16-4) completed its three-game trip with a 2-0-1 record and headed home to face the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Arena on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, NBCSP, NHL.TV) having learned a lesson in perseverance.
"It's tough like that on some nights," Boeser said. "It just shows our character in this room. I've been saying it for a while. It shows that we don't quit and keep battling."
Boeser's goal was his 10th of the season and sixth in his past seven games. The Predators limited his opportunities to show it Thursday, but lately he's been feeling a lot more like the player who was leading NHL rookies with 29 goals last season before he sustained a season-ending back injury on March 5.
A native of Burnsville, Minnesota who Vancouver selected with the No. 23 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Boeser needed time to find his legs at the start of the season. A groin injury, which he believes might have been related to compensating for his back, sidelined him for a stretch of 13 out of 17 games, including 11 in a row from Nov. 6-24.
Since returning, his game has taken off playing alongside 20-year-old center Elias Pettersson, who leads NHL rookies this season with 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists).
"I feel normal," Boeser said. "Ever since we figured my groin issue out, this is the best I've felt in a while and I'm starting to feel like myself again."

In some ways, it's felt like long road back for Boeser, who fractured the transverse process in his L4 vertebrae when a hit from New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck sent him backwards through an open door on the Canucks bench. The pain was so excruciating Boeser initially thought he shattered his pelvis.
After spending the night in the hospital, Boeser was able to go home to the apartment he shared with defenseman Troy Stecher, but it was a challenge for him to even leave his bed the next five days.
"To get up to go to the bathroom it would take 10 minutes," Boeser said. "It was a process to get out of bed. It hurt super bad, but I couldn't not go to the bathroom."
Being unable to finish the season didn't make it any easier. Vancouver, which ended up 31-40-11, was out of the Stanley Cup Playoff race, but the injury cost Boeser a chance to break Pavel Bure's Canucks rookie record of 34 goals and possibly to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. He finished second in the voting behind Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders.
"We didn't have the season we wanted as a team, so I think at that point he was just trying to prove to the world that he's a good player and could continue to do it on a consistent basis," said Stetcher, who also played with Boeser at the University of North Dakota. "I think he was frustrated, but he's been a pro all his life. … He's always pushed himself to be a better player just with his habits. That was no different with his rehab process."
After resuming training in July, Boeser was still feeling some lingering effects from his back injury in training camp and got off to slow start, scoring two goals in the first nine games this season. Green said there's been a noticeable difference since Boeser returned from his groin injury.
"He's skating a lot better than he was the first 10-15 games," Green said. "Really, since he came back from his injury I've liked the way he's skating."
And, as he showed on his power-play goal Thursday, his shot remains one of the best in the League.
"He's not going to lose that," Green said.

With his shot and Pettersson's playmaking skill, Boeser understands the roles they can play as the new faces for the Canucks following the retirement of Henrik and Daniel Sedin at the end of last season. But with the Sedins gone, Boeser is getting more attention defensively from opponents.
"I kind of felt it a little bit last year, but I feel it more this year especially now playing with Elias," Boeser said. "But you see what Elias can do on the ice and they're really bearing down on our line now."
As roommates on the road, Boeser and Pettersson, the No. 5 pick in the 2017 draft, spend a lot of time together talking about hockey and life. After going through it last season, Boeser can offer some guidance on what it's like to deal with the pressures of being a Calder Trophy favorite. He's also been trying to convince Petttersson to visit him at his Minnesota lake house this summer, so he can introduce the Swede to wakeboarding.
"We just have fun with each other," Pettersson said. 'He's a good friend on and off the ice, and in my opinion that helps on the ice, too. He did my journey. He was a rookie last season and had a very good year. He knows I'm doing the same this year and he's helped me a lot."
Although Boeser's rookie season was cut short by injury, he looks back on it fondly. Despite being limited to 62 games, he finished fifth among rookies with 55 points and second in goals behind Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets (31).
He also had the experience of a lifetime at the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game in Tampa, becoming the first rookie to be named MVP after getting two goals and an assist in two games to help the Pacific Division win the 3-on-3 tournament.
"That was a dream and I got to live it," Boeser said. "I remember watching the all-star game when I was a kid and then I was the MVP. My mind was blown."
Looking ahead, Boeser can become a restricted free agent on July 1, but he and the Canucks have agreed to put off negotiations on a contract extension until after the season. He wants his full focus to be on playing.
"My goal is to help produce for the team and help the team get wins. That's kind of how I look at things," Boeser said. "If I can do that and have the success and the team is getting wins, then I'll be happy."