Vancouver has looked like a Stanley Cup contender all season – until they lost starting netminder Thatcher Demko to injury. Can he find his form in time for the playoffs?
Thatcher DemkoPlayoff hockey is back in Vancouver. However, without starting goalie Thatcher Demko, the Canucks hit a rough patch after creating Stanley Cup-contender buzz earlier this season.
Luckily for them, Demko is set to return for Tuesday’s matchup against the Calgary Flames after missing a month with a knee injury.
"I got to think about it for a while. Alright, he's playing," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet told reporters on Monday.
The alarm bells had gone off for the Canucks after a 4-3 overtime loss to the 34-40-5 Arizona Coyotes Wednesday night. Through 14 games without Demko, the Canucks went 7-5-2 – but they were only 2-4-1 against the top eight teams in the Western Conference.
The Canucks secured a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers without Connor McDavid Saturday night. Backup netminder Casey DeSmith played excellent, making 32 saves. However, Demko’s elite play will be necessary if the Canucks want to win a series in a competitive West.
The 28-year-old netminder hadn’t played since March 9, leaving the game with a lower-body injury against the Winnipeg Jets in the second period.
It can only be expected that Demko will need some time to get back into the swing of things to return to his impressive pre-injury form, but he said the approach to his return has been aggressive.
“I feel pretty much right where I was when I went down,” said Demko.
Demko, in his fourth year as the Canucks’ starter, is having his best season yet, posting a 34-13-2 record with a 2.47 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and five shutouts. With a 0.76 save percentage above expected and 7.96 goals saved per 60 minutes, good for 10th-best in the NHL, Demko was a Vezina Trophy contender before the injury. As of Jan. 18, an NHL.com panel deemed Demko the second-leading candidate in the Vezina race, placing behind Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
Without Demko, DeSmith has struggled to fill the void, going 4-5-1 and dropping four of his last five starts. The 32-year-old may be out of his depth as a starter, posting a .893 save percentage since Demko’s injury. DeSmith has also stumbled in allowing early goals, including four first-period goals against the Vegas Golden Knights on April 2 in a 6-3 loss and two goals in the opening six minutes against the Los Angeles Kings on April 6.
Third-string goalie Arturs Silovs received four starts since Demko's injury, posting an .881 save percentage and going 3-0-1.
The results cannot entirely be blamed on the goaltending, as the Canucks have yet to score four goals in a game more than once this month. However, the confidence and consistently stellar play the Canucks had displayed for most of the season has not been seen since Demko’s injury.
The Canucks have mustered just 2.79 goals per game during this stretch, which ranks them 23rd in that span. Overall in 2023-24, the Canucks have averaged 3.41 goals per game, which is sixth-best in the league.
The Canucks have stayed afloat without Demko at the top of the Pacific Division, but they need him to be healthy and sharp to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.