Browsing: Demko

VANCOUVER — When Vancouver Canucks coach Adam Foote tried without much success on Friday to explain why Thatcher Demko could miss back-to-back games on the weekend, the goalie’s issue sounded like more than “maintenance†but less than injury.

Demko was too sore to play and needed a couple of days off. Fine. Not to worry, he would likely be back for Tuesdayâ€s game against the Winnipeg Jets.

And Demko was back. He allowed three goals on eight shots in the first period and was not seen again. Kevin Lankinen played the final two periods for Vancouver, just like he played most of last season, as the Canucks lost 5-3 to end a 1-2-1 homestand.

The limping team now has to travel all the way to the Atlantic to play both Florida teams and the Carolina Hurricanes.

But it could have been worse on Tuesday.

Canucks captain and superstar Quinn Hughes also left the game in the second period with an apparent arm or shoulder injury but returned a few minutes later.

None of the Jets†first three goals were Demkoâ€s fault. Two of them bounced in off Winnipeg skates and another off a Vancouver stick.

The team announced at the start of the second period that Demko would not return, and Foote did not have much to add post-game except confirm the injury is “lower body.â€

The coach said Demko was ready to start after sitting out weekend games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche.

“I mean, yeah, you canâ€t control injuries,†Canucks winger Jake DeBrusk said. “There’s different stuff that happens to guys, you know, (and) since I’ve been here, there’s been a lot. You know what? Kevin came in cold, did a great job, gave us a chance. Obviously, you hope (Demko is) okay, and you hope he’s back as fast as possible. That’s just how you take it on the bench.

“I was even talking to him a little bit when he came over (during the first period); I knew something wasn’t right.â€

The best of Demkoâ€s five saves also looked like the most demanding — a post-to-post stretch to get his left pad in front of Cole Perfettiâ€s backdoor shot about six minutes in when it was already 1-0 for Winnipeg.

Lankinen has struggled at the start of this season to replicate the form (and .902 save percentage) from last year that earned him a five-year, $22.5-million contract extension. But he had one of his best games so far in relief of Demko.

He stopped 20 of 21 shots and wasnâ€t beaten until the Vancouverâ€s dreadful penalty killing allowed Gabe Vilardi time and space between the hash marks to collect Kyle Connorâ€s pass, measure a backhand and flip the puck past the goalieâ€s stick-side to make it 4-2 for Winnipeg 48 seconds into the third period.

So, thatâ€s a goaltending positive for Vancouver.

But Lankinen may have to do this for a couple or many games in a row.

Foote said Demko would be re-evaluated Wednesday, which is the Canucks†travel day. Their three-game cross-continental jaunt opens Friday in North Carolina.

“We’re all human beings, and I don’t think anybody understands a goalie as well as another goalie,†Lankinen said of the emotional aspect of Demkoâ€s injury. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to him, so I don’t know. . . I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but I hope for the best.

“I’m ready to play every single game. That’s what I love to do. That’s what I always wanted to do.â€

Lankinen re-iterated it is the backup goalieâ€s responsibility to always be ready, and make sure heâ€s prepared to seize the opportunity to start if it arises. After playing four straight games, the 30-year-old from Finland feels the starterâ€s workload is helping him.

“I think so, yeah,†he said. “And probably most of the goalies would agree on that. The game slows down a little bit, and you make better reads when you’re in the game, and the preparation gets a little easier because you’re in the rhythm and you’re feeling it. So who knows what’s going to happen the next few days here. But Iâ€ve got to learn from this and get better.â€

You must remember, for context, that Demko carries more baggage than a Samsonite freighter when it comes to injuries.

Demkoâ€s rare and confounding popliteus muscle tear in his knee clouded his career before last season and delayed his entry to the Canucks†lineup until December. He was injured twice more before the season was over, and Demko explained later that his lack of adequate pre-season preparation left him physically vulnerable and unable to withstand the rigors of the every-second-day NHL schedule.

This past summer, with the chance to fully train and get back to peak condition, Demko changed his routine and broadened his personal “team†to make preparation more preventative, guarding against future injuries.

Because without Demko, even with a backup-plus in Lankinen, the Canucks have little chance to be successful.

In order, the most important basic prerequisites for a bounce-back season in Vancouver and a return to the Stanley Cup playoffs were:

1.       Demko staying healthy.

2.       Elias Pettersson playing like an elite centre.

There are many other factors but none come close to the essentialness of these first two.

Until the Canucks†last road trip, Demko was not only the teamâ€s most valuable player through 11 games, statistically he was about the best goalie in the NHL in October.

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Whether he misses another game, another month or the rest of the season, he is part of the injury crisis that has undermined the Canucks†opening quarter of the season.

Theyâ€ve had as many as nine players out. And with Demko unavailable, they are currently without seven.

If only their health matched their heart. The 8-9-1 Canucks continue to compete with desperation, trying to survive this spell well enough to be in the playoff fight when they get healthy.

Even against the Jets, Brock Boeserâ€s rebound goal as the Canucks skated six-against-five brought Vancouver within one, down 4-3, with 90 seconds remaining. Alex Iafalloâ€s empty-netter clinched it for Winnipeg.

After playing 51 games last season as Demkoâ€s stand-in, Lankinen certainly sounds up to the challenge now.

“I feel great,†he said. “The more I play, the better I feel. That’s always what you want to do as a goalie — you want to be the guy, you want to carry the load and help the team win. And I’ve been feeling really good, and hopefully we’ll get some more results here soon.

“Iâ€m just living day by day, you know? Just one day at a time and not worrying too much about the future.â€

If only Canuck fans could feel so unencumbered.

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VANCOUVER — No matter how hollow the Vancouver Canucks†lineup becomes due to injuries, Thatcher Demko looks capable of keeping the team competitive if he stays healthy and sharp. And for the first time in two years, the goalie feels he is both.

“I didn’t play one single good game last year,†Demko told Sportsnet last week. “I would say I’m back to kind of where I was two years ago.â€

Two seasons ago, before Demko tore the popliteus muscle in his knee in the first game of the 2024 playoffs, the American won 35 of 51 starts, five by shutout, while posting a career-best save rate of .918. Demko finished second in Vezina Trophy balloting and was named to the National Hockey Leagueâ€s Second All-Star Team.

Through seven games this season, Demkoâ€s save percentage is .926. The analytics site Natural Stat Trick has him leading the NHL with 7.2 goals saved above average at five-on-five, and MoneyPuck ranks him first with 9.5 goals saved above expected.

After the Canucks†2-0 home loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday, when leading scorer Conor Garland became the eighth player out with injury in the first 11 games, Demko is 4-3-0 in his seven starts. In his three losses, Vancouver has scored twice.

After a season undermined by his own injuries, Demko is playing at a dizzying level. And as the team limps out on the road for another three-game trip that starts Thursday against the St. Louis Blues, the 29-year-old goalie from San Diego gives the Canucks their best hope of surviving the current injury crisis.

After the confounding popliteus injury and two others limited Demko to just 23 starts last season, he has returned to elite form sooner than anyone should have expected.

“I mean, that’s a tricky question, I guess,†he said. “With that (level of performance), kind of comes my expectation of what to expect on a nightly basis. Obviously, I’ve had to grow as a performer over the last two years, just given my circumstance. Iâ€m just kind of continuing to learn how to be able to get on the ice and do what I can do every night.â€

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• 32 Thoughts: The Podcast

  Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.

  Latest episode

Undermined by injuries for much of his career, Demko said before training camp that he had changed his off-season training to make it more preventive. While he was out last season, the Canucks re-signed Kevin Lankinen to a five-year, US$22.5-million contract to lessen Demkoâ€s workload and provide insurance against any future injuries to their starter.

Lankinen, however, has struggled to find his A-game through four starts this month. And although none of his three losses can be pinned on the goalie, Lankinen would concede that an .873 save percentage isnâ€t good enough.

Demko is expected to get at least two starts on this road trip, but with off-days between Saturdayâ€s game in Minnesota and Mondayâ€s in Nashville, itâ€s possible he could play all three. The Canucks plan to practise in St. Paul on Friday, which would be their first practice in nine days.

The Canucks have lost four of five games and their special teams, especially with personnel changes forced by injuries, need work.

“We looked at it hard, obviously, when the schedule came out, and we reviewed it more than once,†coach Adam Foote said of the sparse practice schedule. “There’s going to be pockets where this is going to happen. Would we like this to happen in a perfect world in six weeks? Yeah, but it’s right out of the gate, and some teams are dealing with that right now as well. Youâ€re aware of it when we have an Olympic year, so you just move forward and you don’t try to think about it and just prepare.â€

Burning for Olympic torch

One subplot worth following with Demko is how quickly he is playing his way back into Olympic consideration after USA Hockey largely forgot about him after his injury 18 months ago.Â

Two years ago, Demko would have been almost an automatic choice for one of Team USAâ€s three goaltending spots. But after last season, he wasnâ€t invited to his countryâ€s Olympic orientation camp in August. The four goalies who attended were Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, Joey Daccord and Jeremy Swayman.

“I think that’s one of those things that is so far out of my control,†Demko said of the Olympics. “I mean, yeah, it’s a pretty thing — kind of like that shiny object out in the distance. But I’m focused on winning, I’m focused on playing at the level I can play at. I think the chips will fall where they fall. I can put my head on the pillow and sleep at night knowing that I’ve been the hardest-working guy to get kind of back to where I am. Getting wins for this group is my priority. That’s where my head’s at.â€

The Canucks used Wednesday as a travel day. But as of post-game Tuesday, none of their injured players was expected to accompany the team to St. Louis. There is hope, however, that one or two may rejoin the team before the end of the trip.

Centre Teddy Blueger and star defenceman Quinn Hughes appear to be the closest to returning.

The teamâ€s only transactions on Wednesday were the recall of minor-league winger MacKenzie MacEachern to provide some size and physicality at the bottom of the lineup, while centre Nils Aman went the other way to the American League. The last of MacEachernâ€s 123 NHL games were played for the Blues two seasons ago.

While there is a lot of conjecture about the Canucks†interest in Boston Bruins centre Pavel Zacha, the acquisition costs probably arenâ€t getting any less prohibitive as injuries (and losses) accumulate in Vancouver. While we canâ€t say what specifics have been discussed, other teams have been consistent in asking Canucks GM Patrik Allvin for one of the organizationâ€s top defence prospects, Tom Willander or Elias Pettersson (Junior).

Given those players†age and upside, as well as uncertainty about what the Canucks†defence may look like if Hughes doesnâ€t re-sign after this season, it is understandable that Allvin has been unwilling to pay that kind of ransom for a middle-six centre. Which is partly why the team bought an inexpensive lottery ticket on Lukas Reichel, the speedy 23-year-old who cost them only a fourth-round pick to acquire from the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

With Blueger close to returning, the Canucks†four centres, for now, are the original Elias Pettersson, Reichel, Aatu Raty and Max Sasson.

Vancouver is a dog city, filled with people who have dogs, love dogs and would react just as Brock Boeser did last week when the longest-serving Canuck, heartbroken, missed two games to say goodbye to his beloved dog, Coolie.

Boeser had adopted Coolie at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game, when Boeser was a 20-year-old rookie with the Canucks.

When Boeser was alone in Vancouver, he had Coolie. During his dadâ€s years-long fight against cancer and dementia and Parkinsonâ€s Disease, Brock had Coolie. In the dark spell that followed Duke Boeserâ€s death, when Brock at one point asked the Canucks for a trade and was unsure where his career was going, he had Coolie.

So when Boeser got a phone call during the last Canucks road trip, telling him that Coolie not only was suffering with cancer but the disease had spread throughout the dogâ€s body, the 28-year-old flew home to say goodbye to the friend who had helped him through everything.

And if you think thatâ€s still not a good enough reason to miss a couple of hockey games in October, we hope that one day you will know what itâ€s like to love something unconditionally and have that love returned.

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EDMONTON — The Vancouver Canucks need more than their goalie to start on time.

Thatcher Demkoâ€s brilliant performance on Saturday wasnâ€t enough to save the Canucks, who were outshot 37-15 and lost 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers.

This was a goalie-adjusted blowout. Without Demko, as Canucks winger Brock Boeser noted, the score could have been 5-1 or 6-1.

But had the Canucks just managed more in the first two periods, when they were outskated and outplayed and outscored 2-0, the game might have actually finished in their favour. Thatâ€s how good Demko was.

Two games donâ€t make a trend — especially when there are 80 remaining.

But in their National Hockey League opener on Thursday, the Canucks†sloppy first half on home ice against the Calgary Flames looked like nerves, opening-night jitters for a team desperate for a strong start after an encouraging pre-season. But they also didnâ€t surrender many shots or scoring chances and dominated the final period in a 5-1 win.

Against the Oilers on Saturday, Vancouver was outshot 13-4 in the first period and, honestly, its most dangerous scoring chance was when Oiler Andrew Mangianpane nearly bobbled the puck into his own net with no one around except alert Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard.

Demko, meanwhile, faced a barrage of Grade-A chances. The goalie made point-blank saves against Matt Savoie, Trent Frederic and twice on David Tomasek.

The Canucks†game plan, like every team that visits Edmonton, was built around stopping Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. And with Demkoâ€s help, they held the best two players in the world off the scoresheet until Draisaitl scored an empty-netter with 1:13 to go.

But the Canucks needed to generate more. A forecheck and some offensive-zone time would have helped.

“Obviously, those guys (McDavid and Draisaitl) are good, but weâ€ve got to play our game and weâ€ve got to initiate more,†Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood said. “Like, our forecheck is something that’s part of our identity, and when we’re not establishing that, it kind of trickles down. It probably starts with our passes. I didn’t think we made crisp passes and were throwing away too many pucks, and we just didn’t sustain possession when we had the puck. And then we’re kind of starting on the back foot, chasing it from the get-go.â€

Sherwood said starting better is “something weâ€re going to have to address.â€

“I don’t know, I think it’s a little different game plan when you’re going against, you know, those two guys,†winger Brock Boeser said. “Youâ€ve got to be aware of them at all times. (But) I think we didn’t take advantage when they were not on the ice. It’s obviously something we’re going to talk about and push to be better at.

“I think we sat back a little too much in the first two periods there, and I thought when we tried to get some momentum going in the third we took a couple penalties and that kind of made us take a step back. I thought we were in the box a lot. Weâ€ve got to be a little more disciplined and push a little harder.â€

The Canucks were shorthanded five times for a total of 9:33, yet blanked the McDavid-Draisaitl power play. But holding on five-on-four didnâ€t help establish their game at even strength.

Tyler Myers, with an unlucky puck-over-glass penalty, and Filip Chytilâ€s offensive-zone trip twice put the Canucks shorthanded when they were trying to push in the third period.

Boeser, knocking down Quinn Hughes†line-drive pass, spun and hooked a low shot past Pickard 47 seconds into the final frame to give the Canucks a chance to steal something from the game.

Demko stopped the first 20 shots he faced, but was beaten by Noah Philp at 12:21 of the second period after a give-and-go with Kasperi Kapanen. An undrafted 27-year-old who was signed out of the University of Alberta and took an entire season off hockey two years ago, Philp scored his first NHL goal with a shot that appeared to tick Myers†stick and change direction on Demko.

With shots 21-8 for Edmonton, Vancouver needed to just survive the rest of the period. But Chytil gave the puck away to Mangiapane in the Vancouver slot, and the Oiler had time to pick his spot stick-side on Demko with 49.8 seconds left in the middle frame.

“That was a bad pass,†Chytil said. “That goal goes on my back. But, yeah, it happens. Itâ€s just too bad that we didn’t get the win for Demmer because he was great. He was unbelievable. We just didn’t score enough goals to win a game. We should get a win for him in a game like that because, like I said, he was unbelievable.â€

Boeser said: “It doesnâ€t surprise me; Heâ€s a world-class goalie.â€

But the way the Canucks played, especially yielding territory and scoring chances early on, a world-class performance still wasnâ€t enough.

“I think weâ€ve just got to stay out of the box,†coach Adam Foote said. “We actually didn’t have a bad (start). It wasn’t going too wrong early. We almost had four or five two-on-ones in the first; we hit one of them. We’re fine, and then we take an offensive-zone penalty. It happens. But, you know, a team like that, youâ€ve got to stay out of the box.

“You know, we were right there (in the third period). And when you have a performance from your goaltender like that, killing five power plays … you just have to be a little bit more patient.â€

ICE CHIPS— Foote tweaked his forward lines for Edmonton, starting ex-Oiler Exander Kane up the lineup on a line with Chytil and Conor Garland. Kane, whose hit-of-the-game on Alec Regula late in the third period drew a retaliatory penalty that gave Vancouver a power play, was one of the best Canucks … Top centre Elias Pettersson finished with 16:38 of ice time, but 3:30 of that came in one chunk at the end of the game. He went 3-15 on faceoffs. Centre Aatu Raty was 9-2 in the circle.

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VANCOUVER — As theyâ€ve collected momentum during the National Hockey League pre-season, the Vancouver Canucks have also built up their leadership. This second construction project predates the first.

This time last year, the most important Canuck not named Quinn Hughes was still lost deep in injury uncertainty. With his rare and confounding torn popliteus muscle destabilizing his knee, Demko didnâ€t know last September when he would play again. On the darkest days, it was difficult to say if heâ€d play again.

Now fully healthy and fully empowered by new head coach Adam Foote to take a greater role in leadership, Demko starts the Canucks†final pre-season game Friday against the Edmonton Oilers and feels ready to help lead the team into what players plan on making a redemptive season after last yearâ€s upheaval.

“I feel like I’ve kind of checked all the boxes that I’ve needed to in the practices,†Demko told Sportsnet after Thursdayâ€s workout at the University of B.C. “Obviously, when you get into the games, there’s things that feel a little foreign as you’re kind of shaking off the rust. You know, I hadnâ€t played a pre-season game in two years. It’s different hockey this time of year — even different from a week from now. So it has been good to just get into the games, getting a little bit of peace of mind.â€

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In his post-practice press conference, coach Adam Foote was asked about changes he sees in top centre Elias Pettersson.

“What it seems to me,†Foote said, “what I see right now is he’s taken a real hard leadership role, which is very noticeable. You recognize it, and his teammates notice it. And his teammates are with him on it, too. Like, Demmerâ€s with him.â€

That leadership has been recognizable in a lot of Canucks.

From the time Foote was hired last May to replace Rick Tocchet, who left the team amid the rubble of last seasonâ€s dysfunction, the new head coach identified building stronger leadership as a key to rebuilding performance.

Itâ€s worth mentioning again that one of Footeâ€s first acts as coach was to meet in Michigan with Hughes, Demko and Pettersson. This was followed by Zoom meetings over the summer with a broader leadership group that included Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Conor Garland, Filip Hronek and others.

Their buy-in has been evident since training camp began two weeks ago. The best players have been driving the Canucks.

“I think Footy kind of orchestrating everything the way he did in the summer really helped,†Demko said. “It’s (different) when guys get to camp, you know, maybe two weeks early, and then you start having discussions about leadership. But I think this was one of the things that Footy was really passionate about and had a lot of conviction about addressing. And credit to him, he did it.

“He stepped in early — really early in the summer. You know, at times, it felt like: What are we going to get out of meeting this early? But kudos to him. He kind of had the vision before anyone else did. I don’t want to talk like weâ€ve got it all figured out because no one does. I mean, no one does in the world; we’re all clueless here. But yeah, it feels like everyone’s on the same page, the guys that have been here.â€

And how does that feel after last season?

“It’s an interesting feeling just because it’s not a really tangible thing,†Demko, who studied psychology at Boston College, said of the dynamic. “You know, it’s something that is so important, something thatâ€s always preached about with every team and every coach. Weâ€re always trying to accomplish the same things, but sometimes it doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s harder to find, for whatever reason. But, yeah, it feels good right now. It feels like it’s been sharp. I think guys are being accountable.

“You can kind of feel that just the practices have a lot of life. That makes it fun. It won’t be like that every day. You know, the seasonâ€s a grind and some days are a little bit lighter than others. We’re all just human beings trying to figure it out. But definitely there’s a crispness in execution, there’s a willingness to work for other people that, I think, is super important. That’s the biggest thing, you’re not just going out so you don’t get in trouble for not being there. You’re working hard for the guy next to you.

“That’s why we play. I mean, that’s why I play. You want to play for your teammates, you want to be doing what you can for them. It’s a good feeling when you get a collective group of people doing that for one another.â€

The Canucks will have close to their full NHL team on Friday, although Foote and his staff may take final looks at prospects like forwards Braeden Cootes and Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and defencemen Elias Pettersson (Junior) and Tom Willander.

The Canucks reduced their pre-season roster by two wingers on Thursday, sending Joseph LaBate to the American Hockey League and waiving Vitali Kravtsov with the intention of doing the same. But the team still carries 27 players, not including third-string goalie Nikita Tolopilo and winger Nils Hoglander, who is out 8-10 weeks after undergoing ankle surgery.

Foote said depth defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has a groin injury, and veteran blue-liner Derek Forbort will be rested so heâ€s ready for the Canucks†season-opener against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Embracing a faster, more aggressive style under Foote, Vancouver is 3-2 in the pre-season and coming off an 8-1 thrashing of the Flames in Alberta on Wednesday.

Friday will be Demkoâ€s second start of the pre-season.

“When it gets to this point, one pre-season game left, it just becomes about being in your team and kind of maintaining the habits that you know are going to get you to where you need to be for opening night,†the 29-year-old goalie said. “Obviously, I’m happy that I’m not in the situation I was last year. I’d probably like to get to a point where we’re not talking about that every time I do media anymore.

“But, you know, I feel good and I think the team looks really good. Thereâ€s a lot of things that we’ve done really well that I think we’re just trying to continue to build. So it’s been good so far.â€

THURSDAYâ€S PRACTICE LINES AND PAIRINGS

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Kane-Chytil-Garland
Oâ€Connor-Cootes-Sherwood
Raty-Blueger-Lekkerimaki
Bains-Sasson-Karlsson

Hughes-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Myers
Pettersson (Junior)-Willander
Aman-Mancini

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VANCOUVER – With the option to wait a year for unrestricted free agency and a much bigger payday after his…