Canucks' Brock Boeser, Phillip Di Giuseppe placed in COVID protocol

The Vancouver Canucks announced that Brock Boeser, Phillip Di Giuseppe and a member of the team’s support staff have been placed in the COVID protocol. Patrick Johnston of The Province reports that both players tested positive Wednesday morning in Anaheim after traveling to face the Ducks.

Losing Boeser ahead of Wednesday’s match will make it a lot tougher on the Canucks, which are actually working on a six-game win streak despite having not hit the ice since Dec. 16. The team hasn’t lost a game under new head coach Bruce Boudreau, and a big part of that success has been the rejuvenated Boeser, who has five goals and seven points during that stretch.

While the two players would normally be subject to the league’s recently reduced isolation period given they’re in the U.S., it certainly won’t help them in this case. The team’s road trip ends on Saturday, and with the Canucks heading back to Canada, it is unclear when they will be ready to return to action (or even travel back to Vancouver). For now, the team will have to make do without its sniper or Giuseppe, who could have been the direct replacement for Boeser if he was eligible to enter the lineup.