Boeser expects rivals to crank up toughness
TORONTO — Brock Boeser could use a massage. Maybe a few. It’s not easy keeping up with Auston Matthews. And it’s about to get significantly more difficult.
Boeser’s first half of the NHL season was electric. Like the first time you see Paris, Buenos Aires or, heck, Tofino. Everything seems amazing. For Boeser, nearly everything was. His first three months stopped Vancouver’s hockey market cold. Goals seemed to fall out of nowhere like free money, as though dollar bills were being flicked from the clouds.
Oh, people expected Boeser was going to be good. No one expected him to have 38 points in 37 games. It took Henrik Sedin three years in the NHL to get to 38 points in a season. He finished that one with 39.
On Friday, Boeser was sixth in the NHL in points-per-minute, all situations. Matthews, by the way, was 20th.
At five-on-five, the pair are in a dead heat. Boeser has been producing at a 2.75 points-per-hour clip while Matthews is at 2.77. Imagine predicting that a year ago when Matthews was transitioning to hockey god and Boeser was recovering from wrist surgery in a forgotten nook of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
As the second half of the season begins, there is only one Boeser question that matters: Can he keep it up?
He’s never played like this, not this often and not this good. In college, his season would be wrapping up at the 40-game mark. In the NHL, the difficult part is just beginning.
Generally, it’s believed teams play tighter and better defence after January and the best players at it are coming for Boeser. You spend months near the top of the NHL goal-scoring board and opponents game plan for you.
“They’re definitely keying on him,” Canucks head coach Travis Green said. “You’re going to start to see guys even finish [more] checks and stuff after the play. That’s all part of the game within the game.
“You’ll see teams trying to get their top D-man out against him, especially with our injuries right now.”
Since Bo Horvat was hurt, no Canucks forward has played more than Boeser. He’s averaging 17:52 minutes a game without Horvat, a number that is on the rise. In the past six games, he’s averaged 20:08.
And while you’ll never convince a Canuck fan of this, there is such a thing as too much Boeser. It’s a fascinating balancing act for Green who understands Boeser is his best offensive threat yet also sees that playing him more than 20 minutes a game could be counter-productive in the long run.
“He’s a better player around 16 to 18 minutes,” Green explained. “He has more jump in his legs to get to loose pucks, and get to the net and get to [scoring] areas.
“It’s not just about creating more offence. He’s got more legs to stop and start in his own zone and play solid defence. We have to watch his ice time and make sure he has his skating legs.”
Remember, it was those same skating legs the coach thought were tired at the end of training camp, something Boeser agreed with when the two met before the season. It led to the now infamous two-game scratch to start the year.
“He’s had back-to-back games where he hasn’t done well in the second game and he’s tried to make a conscious effort in how he gets his body prepared as a young pro who hasn’t had to do it before,” Green said.
Troy Stecher went through all of this last season.
“I remember last year at Christmas break, I needed that break,” Stecher said. “I needed the all-star break. This year, I think I understand my body a lot better.
“I think it’s a benefit for [Boeser] that he can lean on me. I wouldn’t call myself a veteran by any means, but I’ve played a year.”
Boeser has been trying to pick things up as he goes along in managing his body. He’s been taking notes on when veterans take morning skates off and what they do in the weight room.
Are they lifting? Or are they just stretching and foam rolling?
“I realized guys go for massages a lot,” Boeser said. “It’s something I’d never really thought of. I haven’t gone yet. I probably need one. Soon.”