The bad injury news just keeps coming in the NHL. The latest casualties are two of the league’s top rookies, Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser and Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Both could miss the rest of the regular season.
Boeser crashed into the boards awkwardly Monday night after taking a big hit from New York Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck. Boeser was helped off the ice during the Canucks’ 4-3 overtime victory.
Although the initial diagnosis was a severely bruised lower back, the team sent Boeser to the hospital for further examinations.
He is among the leading candidates for the Calder Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s top rookie. Boeser, a first-round pick in the 2015 draft, has scored 29 goals and added 26 assists in 62 games this season. He trails only Islanders center Mathew Barzal among first-year scorers.
But early reports out of Vancouver Tuesday morning suggested the team could shut him down. With the Canucks well out of the playoff race, there will be no reason to rush him back into battle.
Tuesday morning the Bruins announced that McAvoy will miss at least four weeks with a sprained knee suffered March 3 against the Montreal Canadiens.
He emerged as one of the league’s top young players this season, playing more than 22 minutes per game. He produced 32 points and a plus-26 rating in 59 games.
The Bruins drafted McAvoy 14th overall in the 2016 draft. He jumped right into their lineup last spring for the playoffs after playing two seasons at Boston University.
Now McAvoy may be sidelined until this spring’s playoffs.
