Veteran back-up off to strong start after 37-save effort in Edmonton
Veteran back-up off to strong start after 37-save effort in Edmonton
There is a simple formula for National Hockey League teams wanting to make the playoffs -- get 35 victories from your starting goalie and ensure your back-up delivers between 10 and 12 wins.
If Thatcher Demko can backstop the Vancouver Canucks to 35 wins this season that will give the team 70 points in the standings. To reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs, however, the Canucks will likely need Casey DeSmith to reach double-digits in the win column. If he does, that will yield 20 additional points and with a few overtime or shootout losses sprinkled in, the Canucks will find themselves very close to the projected playoff bar.
Now DeSmith's ability to post at least 10 wins will be tied directly to his workload. If Demko makes 55 to 60 starts as expected, that means the back-up will need to record his 10 victories in limited action. Such is the life of a second stringer. If the Canucks are going to be successful this season, it's not enough for DeSmith to merely give Demko nights off to rest. He is going to have to find a way to deliver results. Which is exactly what he did on Saturday night in Edmonton stopping 37 of the 40 shots he faced.
Four times in his NHL career, the 32-year-old has reached double-digits in the win column twice posting 15 victories in a season. So on his own merits, DeSmith has shown an ability to reach the required threshold. But those two 15-win seasons came with 30 and 33 starts. It's unlikely he'll be that busy in Vancouver if Demko maintains his health.
The 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons are more instructive. In both of those years, DeSmith won 11 games as the clear No 2 netminder for Pittsburgh. He won 11 of his 17 starts in 2020-21 and 11 of 24 starts the following season. That's what the Canucks are looking for when DeSmith gets the net.
Last season's Canucks crease situation was a mess and it was clear that neither Spencer Martin nor Collin Delia was prepared to shoulder the load once Thatcher Demko was injured. But the year before that, Jaroslav Halak proved to be a solid back-up. However, despite posting a 2.94 GAA and a .903 save percentage behind a weak Vancouver defense, Halak only managed to post four victories in his 14 starts and his first win of the season didn't come until December 14th.
The Canucks need more than that from DeSmith and the hope is the defense in front of him will aid in the cause. On Saturday in Edmonton, that was not the case as the Canucks were outshot 40-16. But Casey DeSmith was more than up to the challenge and helped the Canucks steal a victory they likely did not deserve based on the run of play.
When he'll get his next start is unclear -- perhaps next Saturday in Florida or at the conclusion of the Canucks five game road trip in Nashville next week. Whenever that day comes, based on his stellar performance against the Oilers, DeSmith has earned another opportunity to prove his worth to his new hockey club and to add to his early season win total in his quest to reach double-digits.
RELATED ARTICLES: