After their overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday, the Vancouver Canucks were hoping to catch some luck of the Irish as they played the Senators in the last of the two-game series on St. Patrick’s Day.
Jimmy Vesey, who was claimed off waivers on Wednesday morning, arrived in Ottawa and took warmup. He was scheduled to play the game but according to The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal, (and starting April 5th. co-host of Donnie and Dhali – The Team on Chek TV) Vesey didn’t play due to his work permit status paperwork not being done on time. According to Patrick Johnston of The Province and The Vancouver Sun, the paperwork wasn’t done on time because “the wheels from the government turned too slowly.”
So, Jalen Chatfield came into the lineup as a forward. The Canucks also got a boost to the bottom six because Tyler Motte returned to the lineup after being sidelined 17 games with an ankle injury. His work ethic and speed on both the bottom six and penalty kill have been missed.
This game had very similar vibes to the previous game, as the Canucks jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Senators scored one in the second and one in the third to tie it up. Only this time, the tying goal didn’t happen late in the third and it was a win in the shootout thanks to Adam Gaudette’s winner and Thatcher Demko’s saves.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s win.
The Thatcher Demko show continues
You knew this one was coming. Once again, Demko stood tall. He stopped 30 out of 32 Ottawa shots and looked sharp. He kept the Canucks in the game, making some big saves, particularly ones coming off the rush and in the high danger areas.
Seven saves and counting for Demko! 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱 pic.twitter.com/qrFmcpKxEz
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 17, 2021
Demko also stopped all four shots he faced in the shootout. However, his biggest save was this ridiculous stop off of Drake Batherson.
This save by Demko in the shootout was ridiculous. Looked like he got his back heel on it. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/wrveauFiGo
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) March 18, 2021
“I don’t think I touched that one, I’d love to take credit for it,” said Demko after the game per Canucks Army’s David Quadrelli.
Demko looks so confident in the net and Canucks fans can count on him to make the big saves. In his last ten games, he has a save percentage of .956 in his last ten games and is .950 in March. He also has made the most saves in the NHL this season with 682.
The playoff hopes do look slim, but there is a bit of hope with Demko playing the way he has as of late.