Canucks: Thatcher Demko is their secret weapon

The Vancouver Canucks are officially in the playoffs for the first time in years. Here is how Thatcher Demko can be a huge difference-maker for his team.

The Vancouver Canucks will play Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the defending champions, the St. Louis Blues. This will be a huge challenge for this team but luckily for them, they have Thatcher Demko on their roster.

The Canucks played the Blues three times this season and had a 2-0-1 record. Both wins came when Demko was in the net and he was incredible. He put up a 0.946 save percentage and stopped 70 of 74 shots with a 1.92 goals-against average. In the 2018-19 season, he lost to the Blues in the shootout but allowed just one goal and had a .944 save percentage. Throughout his career, he’s always had St. Louis’ number which is a huge advantage for the Canucks.

The Blues are a very strong offensive team as they average 3.14 goals a game and have the third-best powerplay in the league (24.26%). Not only can they score, St. Louis is an extremely stingy team. They’re 27th in goals against per game (2.68) and Jordan Binnington has established himself as one of the best goalies in the league. For the Canucks, goaltending will be key if they want to upset the reigning Cup champions.

Normally in the playoffs, there are no back-to-backs but this year there are. Game 3 and 4 of this series are one after another and it is a great opportunity for Demko to get a start in this year’s playoffs.

Jacob Markstrom is the undisputed starter in this series but knowing that Vancouver has a player like Demko in net as a backup will be a huge help for Green. In the postseason, having two good goaltenders is key. The Blues had Binnington and Jake Allen, the Washington Capitals had Brayden Holtby and Philip Grubauer, and the Pittsburgh Penguins had Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray. If the Canucks want to find success and go deep in the playoffs, they will need both Markstrom and Demko to be solid.