With a little bit of luck, elbow grease, and a standout performance from Kevin Lankinen, the Vancouver Canucks came away with a 4-3 shootout win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night. However, starting goalie Thatcher Demko left the game with what was revealed to be "back spasms" by head coach Rick Tocchet later on.
Demko, 29, officially returned to the Canucks on Dec. 10 following extensive rehab for a chronic knee injury and went on to play six games in the next 18 days. The two-time NHL All-Star played his seventh game of the season on Thursday night, making 11 saves on 12 shots before exiting seven minutes into the second period.
Canucks bring Arturs Silovs from AHL
The Demko injury situation will invariably become more clear as time goes on, but it is worth noting that the Canucks re-called Latvian rookie goalie Arturs Silovs from the AHL Abbotsford Canucks on Friday afternoon.
So, while Demko's back spasms do not appear, or at least sound, serious, the star Canucks goalie is not well enough to start or back Lankinen up for the second leg of this back-to-back against the Nashville Predators. The fact that Demko cannot serve as the backup is at least slightly concerning.
"Been dealing with stuff like this since about 8th grade. But it's never been this severe." -Anthony Richardson, on dealing with a disc issue in his back.
— Brett Bensley (@brettbensley) January 1, 2025
He added he couldn't stand up or walk early last week. #Colts pic.twitter.com/VspBmxfEkD
Plus, back spasms have taken a hit in reputation over the last week or so. Those tuned into the NFL might be aware that Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that starting quarterback Anthony Richardson was dealing with soreness.
Richardson's soreness was later revealed to be back spasms, which, according to Richardson, could be "chronic", and forced him to crawl around his house as he could not stand. His sophomore season with the Colts ends with two consecutive weeks on the shelf.
Back to the Canucks and hockey, the Canucks are most certainly hoping that Demko's injury does not evolve into a long-term issue, and it is hard to discern the overall feeling in the organization with so little time between games.
The Canucks would presumably have no problems with riding Lankinen until Demko is healthy again, but Silovs and the backup goalie position would be thrust into the spotlight once again.
With Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson already out with injuries of their own, that is not a can of worms the Canucks want to open at this point in the season.