Canucks Recap: Three stars of the week (Mar 7th – 12th)

2. Brock Boeser

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Brock Boeser show.

The 24-year-old Minnesota native has been on an offensive tear as of late, registering seven points in his last six games, and he continues to be the team’s best forward. He is producing at just under a point-per-game pace, with 29 points in 30 games, and he is currently sitting in a five-way tie for ninth in league scoring, above notable names like Sidney Crosby, Brayden Point and Sebastian Aho.

When he isn’t putting pucks into the back of the net, Boeser is still finding ways to meaningfully contribute to the team. He is averaging just under 20 minutes of ice time this season, which is a true reflection of how often head coach Travis Green has been deploying him in critical situations, and his defensive improvements have been welcomed with open arms.

He continues to create many quality, high-danger scoring chances, even without the consistent services of his Lotto linemates, and he is tied for the team lead in shots registered with 71 and overall shooting percentage of 19.7%.

During Monday’s tilt against the Canadiens, Boeser led all forwards with three shots on goal, 15 offensive zone starts, and a Corsi rating of 59.5%, according to Natural Stat Trick. He was easily the most exciting player in what had to have been the muddiest, neutral zone-filled 3v3 overtime period we’ve seen all season, and he had the best chance to end the game (and to simultaneously added to his already explosive highlight reel package) had it not been for a miraculous goal-line save from Carey Price.

What’s even more encouraging from Boeser is that he knows how to bounce back after a poor offensive performance, which is something that very few Canucks, if not any, have been able to learn this year.

Boeser registered his team-leading 14th goal of the season on Wednesday night, blasting an absolute rocket early in the second period to bring the Canucks within one.

This tally put Boeser in a two-way tie with captain Bo Horvat for most powerplay markers registered this season, and his offensive prowess has been one of the few bright lights for the man advantage lately.

The club has struggled mightily to set up in the opponent’s end, let alone successfully enter the offensive zone, and it’s been cringe-worthy to watch them try to string together a series of passes, as we all painfully know from their long 5-on-3 powerplay.

But once again, Boeser was able to provide some hope for the club’s special teams, and he showcased how simple the powerplay execution needs to be in order to use it effectively.

In addition to Demko, Boeser has also put up a strong argument for team MVP, and all we can do is pray that his success transfers over to the rest of the team as soon as humanly possible.