Canucks' Mason Raymond out 3-4 months after check

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - 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 vertebrae after being checked into the boards.

Raymond sustained a "vertebrae 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 win over Vancouver.

The deciding game will be Wednesday night in 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.

On the first shift of the game, Raymond became entangled with Boychuk in the corner after the puck went by both of them. He was spun backward with the defender's stick between his legs. Raymond ended up with his head down between Boychuk's legs as the defenseman finished his check by delivering Raymond backward into the boards, leaving him face down on the ice.

Vancouver yielded four goals during a 4:14 span shortly after Raymond's injury and trailed 4-0 after the first period.

Raymond has struggled on Vancouver's second line in the postseason, managing just two goals and six assists.

The 25-year-old Raymond scored 15 goals this season and had 25 goals the previous season. Despite his low point total in 24 playoff games this season, he was among the Canucks' leaders with 17 shots through the first five games of the Cup finals. His speed will be missed on both the second line and killing penalties.

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 forwardr Nathan Horton out of the series in Game 3.

Vancouver's second-line center Ryan Kesler and top-scoring defenseman Christian Ehrhoff are also playing after get hurt during the Western Conference finals.

Jeff Tambellini could replace Raymond for Game 7. The son of Edmonton general manager Steve Tambellini is fast, but hasn't scored since Dec. 28, and doesn't have a point while averaging less than six minutes during five playoff appearances, mostly on the fourth line.