With their best start yet under Alain Vigneault, the Canucks don't have to be drooling in a corner, desperately waiting for the cavalry to arrive.

Good thing. Because despite Saturday's optics, it's going to be some time for both Ryan Kesler and David Booth to return to the lineup.

How long? 'Baby Steps' Kesler continues to say he doesn't have a timeline. He's so chill about it you'd swear he was a hippie living in a grass hut on a beach in Phuket, and you were asking him when he's coming home.

Whenever the time's right, brah.

Booth, who joined Kesler with their teammates on the ice for the first time this season Saturday, presents himself as the polar opposite. He's practically foaming at the mouth when he talks about all the games he's missing.

No rush, right David? "Uh, there kind of is," Booth snapped back. "I haven't played a game in 10 months. I want to get going. That's the frustrating part. You want to get back playing and you kind of, maybe push it a little bit."

Whatever pushing Booth has done has left him frustrated he hasn't made nearly the progress he'd hoped for in a month. Four weeks ago, on the Canucks' first day of physical testing, Booth ripped apart his groin on his second sprint skate of the day. He tried to skate as fast as he could, but instead collapsed to the ice, losing strength in his legs after hearing a "pop." He needed to be helped off.

Booth was scheduled to be back playing in 4-6 weeks. But a month later, he is still experiencing pain and doesn't know when he'll be in the lineup again.

"That's something I'm getting frustrated about because I don't know what's going on," Booth said. "You think that you give it this much time, it might be better.

"You know, the groin feels fine, but there are other areas that don't feel the best right now. The groin itself is healing well, but there are other compensations in my body. Maybe other things have to be addressed."

Of course, this evokes all sorts of worst-case scenario imagery, things like a hip issue, a sports hernia and, of course, the possibility of surgery. But it's all pointless speculation at this point because, as Booth said, he's not sure what his problem is or how long it's going to take to fix it. He's still hoping his rehab program will be enough to heal the problem areas in the next couple of weeks and get him ready to play.

"It's getting more frustrating as time goes on. Because you feel like you're close and then you might have a little setback or something else," Booth said.

"Now it's getting to a point where it's really, really irritating me."

He called Saturday's participation in the Canucks game-day skate "a first step." And it was one he took gingerly, as he tiptoed around the ice, never taking his jets out of second gear.

While Booth made his way gently around the ice, Kesler tore it up. He was flying. Maybe that's why Vigneault said Kesler seems to be improving by "leaps and bounds." But skating isn't holding Kesler up, it's the strength in his shoulder.

"I'll be back when I'm ready," Kes-ler said. "I'm doing light contact now. I'm taking baby steps."