Article content continued

2. Boeser aggravated groin, Tanev returns

The manner in which the Canucks rallied for an overtime win over the Avs seemed to bode well for Boeser. His goals were akin to last November and he seemed to have more giddy-up in his stride and a shoot-first mentality. He took a “maintenance” day Saturday and after a brief pre-practice twirl Monday, the winger felt another twinge of pain from a groin he first injured on Oct. 18 in Winnipeg. Boeser didn’t skate Tuesday and is listed day-to-day. Brendan Leipsic took his practice spot Monday.

Meanwhile, Chris Tanev did practise Monday and announced after the morning skate Tuesday that he’s good to go; he missed five games after being struck by a puck on the hip while blocking a shot Oct. 24 in Las Vegas.

“The puck just hit me and I’ve got gear everywhere there, and I don’t know how it (puck) managed to find me in that spot,” said Tanev. “It swelled up quite bad like a big hematoma or hip pointer and we had to bring the swelling and bleeding from inside down. We’ve won three in a row and the team is playing great and it’s great to be back.”

Tanev returns to a team that’s transitioning better out of its own zone and creating offence off the rush. Part of that is the mandate and part is Pettersson’s willingness to back-check deep into his zone to trigger quicker turnarounds.

“We’re trying to play faster and get pucks up, and obviously it helps when we have skilled forwards who are making a lot of plays and it’s fun to watch. He (Pettersson) is a special player. He competes in the D-zone and he battles and obviously an incredibly smart player. He’s a huge player for us.”