Do the Vancouver Canucks have the best goaltending tandem in the NHL?

The Vancouver Canucks have gotten outstanding goaltending from Thatcher Demko and Jacob Markstrom to begin the new season. But how does the Canucks’ tandem stack up against others around the league?

It’s been a long time since the Vancouver Canucks have been able to say that good goaltending is one of their team’s strengths. This year, however, the Canucks are able to say just that, thanks to budding young goaltender Thatcher Demko, and Jacob Markstrom, who looks ready to continue the tear he was on at the end of last season.

Demko was put to the test after Markstrom was granted a leave of absence by the team to tend to a family matter. Demko started three straight games for the Canucks, going 2-1. The game that stood out the most over those three was the 4-3 shootout victory Demko secured for his team over the St. Louis Blues.

If it weren’t for Demko’s solid play in the third and six consecutive stops in the shootout, that game could have gone a whole lot differently for the Canucks. The Canucks were unable to get any run support for Demko in his lone loss of the season, as they were shutout by MacKenzie Blackwood and the New Jersey Devils. Demko allowed just one goal in that game.

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Markstrom was the story on Sunday against the New York Rangers, as he looked stellar in his return to the crease for the Canucks; especially in the third period when the Canucks allowed the Rangers 17 shots on goal, many of them coming from prime scoring areas. Markstrom was up to the task and was the number one reason that the Canucks were able to hang on for their second road win of the season.

These goaltending performances made me wonder, how good has the Canucks goaltending been so far to start the new season? I looked at stats from every goaltending tandem in the NHL, and narrowed it down to some of the best. Here are the top eight tandems in the NHL, when looking at average save percentage:

To begin the new season, the Canucks have gotten some of the best goaltending in the league from their tandem of Demko and Markstrom. The question will be whether or not the two goaltenders are able to sustain their exceptional level of play.

Having a hot goaltender is something that can make or break a team’s playoff hopes. You don’t have to look back far to see an example of this, as Jordan Binnington brought St. Louis all the way to a Stanley Cup Championship in last year’s playoffs.

To begin the new season, the Canucks goaltenders are right up there with the best tandems in the league. It’s hard to say if one tandem is the “best”, due to the many factors that need to be taken into account. One thing I would look for (aside from how many shots they’re stopping) is if both goaltenders can be relied on in the event of an injury to the other.

We saw this with Demko who had to step in for Markstrom while the Canucks’ starter returned home to Sweden, and Demko was up to the task. It’s for that reason, and their ability to stop the puck, that has many in Vancouver claiming that the Canucks have the best goaltending tandem in the National Hockey League.

I can’t say I disagree, for now at least, but we’ll get a much clearer answer to this as the season rolls along. One thing is for certain, and that is that this is the best goaltending tandem we’ve seen in Vancouver in years.