Vancouver Canucks top prospects of week 27: Elias, Demko, MacEwen
No. 2 – G Thatcher Demko (Utica, AHL)
You have to feel for Thatcher Demko. He is faced with the toughest task of taking on the best team in the AHL. And in that first playoff game, they truly showed it. Demko dealt with 47 shots, making 44 saves. Unfortunately, his team lost the first game 3-2 in overtime.
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Demko appears well adjusted and is making great plays out there. He is in a tough goaltending battle with Garret Sparks; although Demko is tested more often. That’s just how it goes when Utica can’t even come close to matching the depth on the Marlies roster. And that is with three of their best players out of the lineup. Truly scary.
Things got worse in game two as Demko gave up four goals on 28 shots. However, I would not lay too much blame at his feet. His defencemen were victimized by bad bounces, but there is something critical happening in this series.
Because Utica is unable to win on skill alone, they are trying to wear the Marlies down physically. This is leading to a lot of penalties. Utica took seven penalties in game one and seven more in game two. You are not doing yourself any favours by running a parade to the penalty box.
Down to a single game
As mentioned earlier, the Comets are one game away from being knocked out of the playoffs. Canucks fans on the West Coast can’t even watch the Comets play, unless they shell out $45 to watch a terrible quality stream.
It doesn’t sound good, but the best stories are ones that overcome adversity. The Toronto Maple Leafs are proving that now, pushing their series to a game seven after being down 3-1. The Comets could come back. But it will take near-perfect goaltending to do it.
I hate it when teams rely this much on their goalies to win. It’s a ridiculous amount of pressure on one guy and masks the fact that the team isn’t very good. Keep that fact in mind when you hear people say Demko is enough for the Canucks to make the playoffs next year.
Fortunately, Reid Boucher‘s broken hand has recovered. He just cleared waivers and will join the Comets on Wednesday for their elimination game. The team needs their leading scorer more than ever to stay alive in the series.