Boeser leads Canucks in downing of Flyers
Eastern six-pack starts on winning note as the rookie puts up eighth, ninth goals
In the City of PHILADELPHIA Brotherly Love, Jakub Voracek welcomed his former teammate Tuesday by whistling a puck at Sam Gagner, who was guarding his net at the end of the pre-game warm-up.
What a town. And we thought the fans were rowdy.
If the Philadelphia Flyers were trying to unnerve the Vancouver Canucks, they should have done something to Brock Boeser — steal his sticks, dull his blades, anything.
In what has already gone well beyond a good-news story, the Canucks’ rookie winger silenced anyone looking for cracks in his armour.
Maybe he doesn’t have the moxie to strut his stuff away from Rogers Arena, some said. Maybe tougher matchups is why he had but one road goal.
Not anymore. With deadly wristshot accuracy, Boeser went stick side and then glove side on the mesmerized Michal Neuvirth to up his goal total to nine and ramp up the Calder Trophy chatter. At 20, Boeser is already drawing comparisons to the game’s greats who could get shots away quickly and accurately. Think Joe Sakic.
Here’s what we learned as the Canucks improved to 7-3-0 on the road with a 5-2 triumph to open a six-game eastern road swing:
HAKSTOL BIG ON BOESER
Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t guide Boeser at the University of North Dakota, but he had a hand in recruiting the Minnesota native to the NCAA powerhouse.
Hakstol coached Canucks defenceman Troy Stecher for two seasons at North Dakota, so he knows something about finding and fine-tuning young talent at the collegiate level. However, his eyes had to be wide open at watching Boeser do his thing Tuesday because his own club was playing like it was trying to get him fired with a fifth straight loss.
With the savvy and smoothness of a veteran, Boeser scored the winning goal in transition off a turnover. He took a long feed from Derrick Pouliot midway through the opening period and from the right side, he calmly snapped a wrist shot to the far side before Neuvirth could react.
If that wasn’t enough, Boeser was at it again on the power play. Daniel Sedin knew who to look for once the Canucks gained the offensive zone. No sooner did he put the pass on the blade than in another quick motion, Boeser beat Neuvirth to the glove side. No wonder the stopper was shaking his head.
Hakstol would do the same if he knew Boeser’s backstory. From tough love at the July development camp and destined for the Utica Comets unless he developed better total game awareness, Boeser did what he has always done — he beat the odds. Travis Green had him sit out the first two games and, well, you know the rest.
“He set the tone of what I needed to work on the rest of the summer and I knew I didn’t have a guaranteed (roster) spot,” Boeser said. “So I knew I had to work on some things before training camp.”
Which of course impressed a seasoned veteran like Daniel Sedin.
“That was a good message for him and it says a lot about (Travis) Green,” the winger said. “It’s easy just to let him come into camp after having a good end to last year and just keep playing. They told him how he had to play to be successful, and good players take that advice.
“He’s quiet and goes about his business, and that’s what you want to see from young guys.”
Boeser has already had a hat trick, and he’s the first Canucks rookie to score in three consecutive games since Jason King turned the feat from Nov. 3 to 8 in 2003.
DOING IT FOR DORSETT
Derek Dorsett’s remarkable recovery from cervical fusion surgery last December resonates with everyone.
You don’t have to be in the room to understand the physical and mental toll it took on the 30-year-old winger, to say nothing of his young family. And now that he’s about to see a specialist after enduring neck and shoulder stiffness the last week, the nextman-up stuff at the pro level seems a tad harsh.
DID THE CANUCKS WIN ONE FOR DORSETT?
Ask Bo Horvat about sitting beside Dorsett on the team charter and learning as a wide-eyed newcomer what it took to play and progress every day in the NHL. Ask those who he gamely fought this season and those he drilled into the boards about what never giving up on your dream really looks and feels like.
Brendan Gaunce replaced Dorsett in the lineup Tuesday, but he couldn’t replace his presence.
TANEV TIME DRAWS NEAR
Chris Tanev took the game-day skate Tuesday. He was moving well, shot hard and pronounced himself ready to face the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins today. Just one thing: He needs medical clearance.
Tanev has missed six games since he took a Johnny Gaudreau slapshot straight on his left thumb Nov. 7 in Calgary. He was fitted with a hard cast on the digit and said the situation hasn’t affected his ability to move the puck or shoot it.
“I really haven’t shot the puck much, but when the medical staff says I can go, I’ll be in the lineup,” Tanev said.
“I’ve had a lot of (injured) fingers and stuff and I guess you can say it’s from playing hard. It sucks. I’ve had some tough luck.”
Maybe Green said it best: “We’ll activate him as soon as he’s ready to play. When (the doctors) tell me, he’ll be playing — I can tell you that.”