Canucks' Ethan Bear leaves game with upper-body injury

The Vancouver Canucks announced that defenseman Ethan Bear will not return after leaving in the first period of the team’s game against the Boston Bruins due to an upper-body injury.

Bear took a puck up high on his first shift of the contest, leaving the Canucks with five defensemen. The Bruins took a 2-0 lead in the first frame thanks to goals by Hampus Lindholm and Brad Marchand.

Bear has 14 points in 45 games with the Canucks this season. He was in the midst of a three-game point streak, with Bear playing over 24 minutes in his past two games. His 18:39 of average ice time is the second most of his career, with his 21:58 in his rookie campaign with Edmonton back in 2019-20 his highest career total. Bear spent the first three seasons of his career with Edmonton before getting traded to Carolina last year. Then, earlier in 2022-23, he was moved to the Canucks to help a blue line that lacked NHL-quality depth.

The 25-year-old entered Saturday with 16 goals and 61 points in 235 games over five campaigns.

If the Canucks miss Bear for any significant period of time, Riley Stillman could be inserted into the lineup in his absence.

The Canucks currently sit sixth in the Western Conference wild-card race, 19 points behind Seattle in the top spot. The team in the hunt for Connor Bedard and could have two first-round picks if the New York Islanders avoid falling into the draft lottery fight.