The Vancouver Canucks could be getting one of their stars back before they face the Boston Bruins.
Brock Boeser has been back skating with his Canucks teammates for a couple of practices in a non-contact jersey but on Monday morning, he was a full participant.
That's a major step for Boeser, who has missed the Canucks' last seven games with what has been officially called an upper-body injury but is almost certainly a concussion.
"It felt great," said Boeser. "Any time you get to go back out there with your teammates and be able to skate with full contact, it's a nice little treat."
Boeser took a hit to the head from Tanner Jeannot during the Canucks' game against the Los Angeles Kings on November 7. Jeannot received a three-game suspension, so he was out of the Kings' lineup for less than half the time that Boeser was out of the Canucks' lineup.
Whether or not Boeser returns on Tuesday against the Boston Bruins likely depends on how his brain reacts to taking contact at Monday's practice. Concussions can be unpredictable but it's a good sign that Boeser didn't seem to suffer any setbacks after his non-contact practices leading up to Monday.
"It was my first full-contact practice, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes," said Boeser. "If all good, then hopefully I'm in tomorrow."
Head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed that if all goes well, Boeser will return to the lineup on Tuesday in Boston.
"I thought he looked good today. I'll talk to him later this afternoon, see if he's ready to go tomorrow," said Tocchet. "He hasn't had any [setbacks] the last bunch of days. We ramped it up a little today and with these things, we'll want to make sure."
Where will Boeser fit into the lineup in his return?
One intriguing element about Boeser's potential return is who he skated with at practice. Rather than joining one of the Canucks' top-six lines, Boeser skated on a line with Danton Heinen and Teddy Blueger.
On Saturday against the Ottawa Senators, Heinen and Blueger were matched with Nils Höglander on the third line. That line was arguably the Canucks' worst line in that game, although Blueger did score a goal. In addition, Höglander gave the Senators a couple of power plays as well, even if one was questionable after he took a dangerous hit from Tim Stützle that went unpenalized.
All that is to say, it's not surprising that Tocchet would change up that line. Boeser is a pretty significant upgrade on Höglander, though it remains to be seen whether Höglander will draw out of the lineup as a scratch or if he will be bumped to the fourth line and one of Max Sasson or Arshdeep Bains will be scratched.
What that means, however, is that the Canucks' new top line of Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson, and Kiefer Sherwood will remain intact, as well the second line of Dakota Joshua, Pius Suter, and Conor Garland.
The line of DeBrusk, Pettersson, and Sherwood has been outstanding since they were put together four games ago, partially driven by Sherwood's hard-forechecking, heavy-hitting game. Among lines that have spent at least 40 minutes together at 5-on-5, the DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sherwood line is third in the NHL in corsi percentage and second in expected goals percentage, meaning they're significantly out-shooting and out-chancing their opposition.
They're producing too, out-scoring their opposition 6-to-1 at 5-on-5 in their four games together, with Pettersson and DeBrusk also picking up points on the power play. It's not surprising that Tocchet would be reluctant to break up such a promising trio, even with the team's best sniper returning to action.
Whether Boeser stays in a third-line role for long is another question. Without J.T. Miller, the Canucks don't have another true top-six centre, with Pius Suter the closest approximation. Boeser and Suter have played a significant amount together, so it's certainly possible that they'll be reunited at some point.
Thatcher Demko continues to progress
It should be noted that another injured Canucks star was also a full participant at practice: Thatcher Demko.
The timeline for Demko's return is still unknown, as he said he wanted to put his knee "through hell" before getting back into game action. Still, it's a good sign that he continues to push himself hard at practice with the Canucks. Barring a setback, it seems likely that Demko will be back in the Canucks' net soon.
