Demko's injury "not disastrous," Canucks goalie to miss short time: report
Vancouver Canucks fans are nervously waiting for an update on Thatcher Demko.
The All-Star goalie was injured Saturday night during the Canucks’ 5-0 romp over the Winnipeg Jets. Demko left the game with an injury during a TV timeout in the second period, and it wasn’t obvious when or how he was hurt.
Injuries are closely guarded secrets in the NHL, so naturally, neither Canucks GM Patrik Allvin nor head coach Rick Tocchet had much of an update after the game.
“I don’t think it’s too serious, but I don’t know,” Tocchet told reporters Saturday.
“I think we’ll know tomorrow,” Allvin added during an interview on After Hours with Scott Oake and Dave Tomlinson. “I didn’t see what happened… Hopefully, he’s good.”
With the Canucks taking Sunday and Monday off before returning to practice on Tuesday, we haven’t had an official comment from the team since.
Was this where Demko got hurt? pic.twitter.com/qmlTEN6Vs7
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) March 10, 2024
A serious injury could threaten to derail the Canucks’ magical season, with the playoffs just six weeks away. Many wondered if Demko re-aggravated the groin injury that kept him out of much of last season.
On that front, reports from insiders are encouraging this morning. While Demko is expected to miss time, it’s “not disastrous,” according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“I think he’s going to miss a little bit of time. I don’t know exactly what’s going on here, but I don’t think it’s his groin. I don’t think it’s that. I think it’s something else,” Friedman said on Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast. “From what I understand, it’s not disastrous.”
Similarly, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal is reporting that Demko will miss “a few” games, and that the injury is not related to his groin.
Demko will miss a few games, expect the Canucks to call up a goalie.
It’s not his groin or a previous injury. https://t.co/v0IcVxFWRx— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) March 11, 2024
Vancouver could call up goaltender Arturs Silovs, who has played the majority of games for the Abbotsford Canucks this season. Silovs has a .907 save percentage with a 15-11-6 record in the AHL this season. Silovs appeared in five NHL games with Vancouver last season and fared well, with a 3-2-0 record and a .908 save percentage.
They could also opt for Nikita Tolopilo, the undrafted 6-foot-5 Belarusian goalie who has had a good first season in North America. Tolopilo has a 14-10-0 record with a .907 save percentage for Abbotsford this season.
Regardless of which goalie the Canucks recall, expect to see Casey DeSmith play most, if not all of the upcoming games. The next eight games for the Canucks will be played at home, with ample rest in between. Vancouver next plays Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche, and gets two days off in between the following games against the Washington Capitals (March 16) and Buffalo Sabres (March 19).
DeSmith bounced back nicely after a terrible outing in Minnesota on February 19 when he gave up eight goals on 25 shots. The 32-year-old veteran stopped 17 of 18 shots for the win in Anaheim on March 3, and stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief against the Jets on Saturday. In 17 starts this season, the Canucks’ backup has an 8-4-5 record with a .900 save percentage.
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