VANCOUVER - Canucks forward Mason Raymond will miss Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and could still be out to start next season with a fractured vertebra after being checked into the boards.
Raymond suffered a "compression fracture" early in Game 6 Monday night, and his back injury needs three to four months to heal, the team said Tuesday. He was hurt 20 seconds into the game when defenseman Johnny Boychuk hit him during Boston's 5-2 victory over Vancouver.
Raymond lay on the ice for several minutes before being helped off and taken to the hospital on a stretcher. No penalty was called on the play.
Raymond was among the Canucks' leaders with 17 shots through the first five games of the finals. His speed will be missed on both the second line and killing penalties.
Canucks President Mike Gillis said he wasn't sure why Raymond wasn't taken off the ice on a stretcher, but pointed out that he moved his feet while still on the ice.
Gillis also said the team delayed its charter flight to Vancouver in the hopes Raymond might be able to join them, but he wasn't stable enough and the team couldn't wait long any longer.
"They had designed a corset for him to be able to wear to be able to get out of the hospital and travel safely," Gillis said. "That hadn't happened and we had to leave."
Raymond joined a growing list of Vancouver players who won't play for the Stanley Cup on home ice. Fellow second-line forward Mikael Samuelsson had abdominal surgery earlier in the playoffs, top defenseman Dan Hamhuis hasn't played since an undisclosed injury in the first game of the finals, and his replacement, Aaron Rome, was suspended for a late hit that also knocked top-line Bruins forward Nathan Horton out of the series in Game 3.
