The Vancouver Canucks will be without star sharpshooter Brock Boeser for at least one game.

The 27-year-old right winger was injured as a result of a blow to the head from LA Kings forward Tanner Jeannot in the neutral zone on Thursday.

Boeser was not on the ice when the Canucks (7-2-3) had a morning skate ahead of their game against the Edmonton Oilers (6-7-1) on Saturday.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said the forward was being evaluated for an “upper body injury.”

Head coach Rick Tocchet said he spoke briefly with Boeser Saturday morning.

“He doesn’t feel great, but I wouldn’t say it’s terrible either. So I think he’s uncertain right now,” Tocchet said. “We’ll see. I don’t know if these things will change in a week or 24 hours.”

Boeser had just handled the puck when he tied the game midway through the first period of Vancouver’s 4-2 win over Los Angeles on Thursday.

He didn’t appear to see Jeannot coming and spent a few minutes on the ice before getting up and skating on his own. He did not return to the game.

Jeannot was given a one-game suspension for the play, followed by a three-game suspension by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday.

“I mean, it’s dangerous. It’s a dangerous game. And hopefully Brock will be okay,” Tocchet said.

Boeser’s absence leaves a huge hole in Vancouver’s lineup as the Canucks begin a six-game homestand.

The 6-foot-1, 208-pound forward from Burnsville, Minn., scored 11 points in 12 games this year and led the team with six goals.

Last season, Boeser set career highs in goals (40) and points (73) and was Vancouver’s leading scorer in the playoffs before a blood clot forced him to miss Game 7 of the second-round series against the Oilers.

“Obviously, whenever he’s not here… you definitely feel it,” Vancouver winger Jake DeBrusk said. “And that takes a next-man-up mentality. Guys have different opportunities, different looks, and that’s what the game of hockey is all about.

“So it’s one of those things where we can’t quite do what he can do, but we try at the same point.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.