Demko back at Canucks practice, could return to game action soon
Vancouver Canucks fans can let out a sigh of relief as Thatcher Demko returned to practice today.
The goalie had not skated with the team since leaving midway through a 5-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.
He was on the ice at Rogers Arena alongside his teammates. It’s still unclear when he will return to game action but participating in practice is a big step.
Thatcher Demko is on the ice prior to #Canucks practice. pic.twitter.com/fLeFnvg1GZ
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) April 9, 2024
He did leave five minutes before practice was fully over but participated in a significant number of full-speed drills. It appears that him leaving early was always part of the team’s plan as they manage his return to action.
“We have a schedule, a plan with him and today was probably a 60% practice, then probably the next one is 70% and we’ll just gradually go from there,” said head coach Rick Tocchet after practice.
“I mean anything is possible but we’re just really going day-to-day,” continued the head coach when discussing if Demko will return for Saturday’s game. “We had a good day today, we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. That’s the approach we need to take right now.”
Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes all had a maintenance day today and were absent from practice.
“Couple bumps and bruises, nothing major just I thought it was a good time. I think those guys logged 20 minutes last night you know. We have a couple big games coming up I think they need the rest,” explained Tocchet.
Demko’s been enjoying a career season and was generating some Vezina Trophy buzz before his injury. He’s set a career-high in wins and is on pace to do the same in save percentage and goals-against-average.
The Canucks have been using a platoon of Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs while Demko sits out with his injury. All three goalies were on the ice today at practice but Demko had his own side while the other two split time at the other end.
While DeSmith initially provided some strong play in relief of his injured teammate, his performance fell off. He’s lost his last four starts and allowed 17 goals during that time.
This opened the door for 23-year-old Silovs to claim the crease. He’s since started three games, winning them all including a huge 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights last night. He’s now rocking a 2.00 goals-against-average and a .909% save percentage on the season.
Despite the Latvian goalie’s strong play, the Canucks are surely excited to have their franchise netminder back between the pipes soon. The team has a .714% points percentage when Demko starts this season, a number that ranks better than any NHL team.
The Canucks play their next game tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes. After that, they have a big matchup on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, which is very significant for the Pacific Division title race.
Getting their star goalie back for these big games down the stretch is huge for tonight. It just remains to be seen if he will get the chance to start against a lottery-bound Coyotes team or if his first test will be the explosive Oilers, or beyond.