Definitely not the best news for one of the top teams in the NHL, especially with the playoffs just a month away.
According to Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic , Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko is expected to miss a few games due to injury. Dhaliwal says Demko’s injury is not to his groin, or related to any other previous injury.
The former Boston College star left early in the second period of Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets after making 12 saves. Casey DeSmith came in relief to secure a combined 5-0 shutout for Vancouver.
Despite being healthy for most of this season, Demko has had injuries that have plagued him throughout his young career. Lower-body injuries limited the San Diego native to just 32 games last season.
So far, the 28-year-old leads the league with 34 wins, sitting with a 2.47 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage and five shutouts, which is third behind Arizona Coyotes’ Connor Ingram and Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In 217 career NHL appearances, Demko is 115-80-17 with a 2.80 GAA, a .912 SV% and eight shutouts.
Even though the severity of Demko’s ailment is not public, Dhaliwal believes Vancouver will have to call up a goaltender from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
If so, expect the Canucks to recall either Nikita Tolopilo or Arturs Silovs from Abbotsford. While Tolopilo is having a great rookie season in North America, Silovs has NHL experience, making five appearances with the Canucks last season, going 3-2-0 with a 2.75 GAA and .908 SV%.
The Canucks (42-17-7) are still first in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Dallas Stars for the best record in the Western Conference, and one back of the Florida Panthers for the best record in the league.
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