Monday March 5 - Vancouver Canucks 4 - New York Islanders 3 (OT)
Brock Boeser's late-game injury overshadowed the Vancouver Canucks' comeback from a poor first period. Brendan Leipsic had a three-point night that included the overtime winner as the Canucks earned a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Monday at Rogers Arena.
Here are your highlights:
We'll start near the end, when a pall fell over the arena as Boeser laid on the ice after crashing into the open gate at the Canucks bench after an attempted hit on Cal Clutterbuck. It all happened pretty quickly—just a dumb accident.
Because I was busy inputting the data from Jordan Eberle's game-tying goal that had come 36 seconds earlier, I didn't see the play live. I didn't peek over the lip of the press box until Boeser was up and trying to make his way to the dressing room under his own power. He did end up needing help.
Boeser has bounced back remarkably from a couple of other close calls this season, but it sounds like he'll be out for the count this time:
An interesting image in the comments attached to this message:
Here's a bit more medical info on the transverse process, from
Fairview.org:
There are two transverse processes that extend off each vertebra, one on each side. This is where the muscles and ligaments of the back attach to the spine. One of these muscles is the psoas muscle, which controls the forward bending motion of the upper body and thighs. This muscle attaches to the transverse process.
During a fall, car accident, or other forceful injury, the psoas muscle can contract strongly as the body tries to protect itself. The contraction can be strong enough to pull off a chip of bone from the transverse process.
This fracture does not cause any injury to the spinal cord or nerves. However, the forces that cause this fracture can also cause internal bleeding or other injuries that might not be clear at the time of your first exam. Be sure to watch for the symptoms listed under "When to seek medical advice."
This injury will take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. It can be treated at home with rest and medicine for pain and swelling. A back brace (called TSLO) or abdominal binder may be prescribed to reduce pain by limiting motion at the fracture site.
After the healing time, an additional 3 or 4 weeks of gradual return to former activities is usually advised.
So—it sounds like Brock's quest for the Calder Trophy ends on the night that Mat Barzal was in the building.
His rookie season will end with 29-26-55 in 62 games played—five points short of Ivan Hlinka and Pavel Bure's franchise record of 60 points and five goals off Bure's 34—with three less games played than Bure's 65 in his rookie year.
Boeser's news comes down on the same day that the Boston Bruins announced that their Calder hopeful, Charlie McAvoy, will miss at least four weeks with a knee injury. McAvoy had already been sidelined for four games earlier this season with a heart issue. Bruins fans will be hoping that he'll be able to get back into the lineup by playoff time.
Now more than ever, the Calder Trophy is Barzal's to lose. He picked up two more assists against the Canucks on Monday, including the beginning of the setup on John Tavares' snipe that made the score 2-0 for the Islanders early in the second period. What a shot that was!
Ben Kuzma reported in his postgame wrapup for
The Province that the Coquitlam native Barzal had 100 friends and family members on hand to watch him play. I left the arena last night behind two of them—a mother and son, perhaps, both wearing autographed Barzal Islanders jerseys. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of Barzal supporters at the game was even higher than 100. The official attendance for the night was 17,307—one of the lower numbers we've seen this season—but I thought Rogers Arena looked pretty well filled, and the crowd was engaged in the game all night long.
Beyond the Boeser injury, there were three big stories among the Canucks: Brendan Leipsic, Darren Archibald and Jake Virtanen.
Leipsic has shown speed and offensive instincts since joining the Canucks last week but on Monday, the negative side of his game that often kept him out of the lineup in Vegas this season was also on display. First, it was an early tripping penalty on Mat Barzal, then it was a giveaway that led directly to the game's opening goal—which did not please Jacob Markstrom.
Leipsic was whistled for two more penalties in the game, including the slashing call on Jordan Eberle with less than two minutes left in the third period that led to Eberle's game-tying goal.
BUT—Leipsic also finished the night with three points, clicking on a new-look line with Virtanen and Bo Horvat starting in the second period to pick up the Canucks' first goal, then set up Jake for the go-ahead goal in the third, then score the OT winner after pressuring Anthony Beauvillier into coughing up the puck before going wide around Jaro Halak.
Leipsic now has five points in three games since joining the Canucks. I don't think we should put this acquisition on the level of the infamous Martin Erat for Filip Forsberg deal from the 2013 trade deadline...but there is one commonality: George McPhee was GM who pulled the trigger on both deals.
FYI, Philip Holm was assigned to the AHL Chicago Wolves after he was acquired by McPhee. He has two assists in three games and is a minus-three with the Wolves.
With Boeser out, Leipsic will need to keep providing the entertainment value to keep things interesting for Canucks fans down the stretch. I'll be watching to see if Travis Green can also get him to improve his decision-making to the point where he wouldn't be a liability in future games where there's something at stake.
The other new guy who has brought everything we'd hoped is Darren Archibald. As promised, he's delivering on the physical side—currently in third place behind Alex Biega and Michael Del Zotto with an average of 2.8 hits per game. He's also an effective penalty killer and has shown good speed and a nose for the net—which led to his awesome penalty-shot goal on Monday.
Archibald also has five points since joining the Canucks, although those have come over 12 games. If Jim Benning wants to announce another new contract to give the fans some positive juju while they're lamenting the Boeser injury, I sure would love to see the Canucks extend the impending UFA Archibald. Give him two years!
The other great story on Monday was Jake Virtanen, whose eighth goal of the year was his first at Rogers Arena this season.
Jake also assisted on Leipsic's first goal and led the Canucks with five hits—buzzing all game long.
I was attributing Virtanen's energetic night to healthy eating. According to Instagram Stories, he was out for a vegan, gluten-free meal on Sunday, accompanied by Michael Del Zotto and Nikolay Goldobin. But
Jason Botchford reported in The Provies that Virtanen's surge came from a source used by 21-year-olds all over the world:
“I had a Red Bull in-between periods,” he told Botchford.
“Bulldog (Alex Biega) told me to take Red Bull.
“I think he takes two before every game.”
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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