As the majority of Vancouver Canucks fans will be well aware, the most important thing to head coach Rick Tocchet is to play sound defensive hockey. As such, Saturday night's home tilt versus the Edmonton Oilers must have been pure agony for the 60-year-old.
Tocchet took over the Canucks in late January of 2023, and the game against the Oilers represented a new low for him. The seven goals allowed in the unacceptable 7-3 loss, are the most during his tenure in Vancouver.
Everything about the way the Canucks played, can be summed up as sloppy - too many avoidable mistakes, not enough energy, urgency or execution, too many players not performing up to their capabilities. In other words, the absolute antithesis of what you expect from a Tocchet-coached team.
We will give the Canucks some credit for coming back from 3-0 down in the second period, to make a game of it at 3-2 after 40 minutes. In the end though they got what they deserved, as the Oilers scored four unanswered goals in less than five minutes during the final period, to kill off the game.
Lankinen isn't the issue
It was a tough night for Kevin Lankinen, who suffered his first regulation loss in 10 starts this season and was pulled during the final period. However, we're not going to be critical of a goalie who has done so much to keep the team afloat.
As far as we're concerned, Lankinen is one of two candidates for Canucks player of the season up to this point, with how outstanding he's been. (The other is Quinn Hughes.) Speaking to the media postgame, Tocchet said:
""He’s a competitor. He hung in there. It's 3-2 and he made a couple of (saves). There was an empty net and he somehow got a stick on it. This guy's a fighter. He’s the least of our problems.""
This aside, the defensive calamity is just one of several already suffered by the Canucks in 2024-25. The others happened with Artūrs Šilovs between the pipes, with him twice allowing six goals in only three starts.
Canucks need Demko
In this respect, Saturday night's game served as a reminder that the Canucks need Thatcher Demko back, if they are to make and then progress through the playoffs. The team simply cannot keep relying on Lankinen indefinitely, particularly if Šilovs can't rebound and play more like he did last season.
Just to be clear, this isn't about saying the Canucks now need to rush Demko back. (They apparently already tried this before with him, leading to the current situation.) He will continue to rehab and work at his own pace, until he feels comfortable enough to play again.
However, even though last season's Vezina Trophy finalist won't be rushed, it's clear that he's a necessity, in order to take the Canucks to the next level. If he's in goal, this automatically becomes a better and more frustrating opponent for other teams.
A boost in so many ways
One of the many ways in which Demko will theoretically help, is stopping the team from falling behind early. The Canucks have now allowed the first goal in their last seven games, and while they've still ultimately won four of them, this is just not acceptable for a team with playoff aspirations (at least).
Another area where fans will hope the 28-year-old can help, is with the Cancucks home form, Whereas the team is 6-1-0 on their travels, they have a shockingly poor 1-2-3 record at Rogers Arena.
In terms of when Demko will be back, there have certainly been some encouraging updates of late, with him potentially back around mid-November. Again though, anything can change with such an unpredictable injury, particularly for a hockey player.
Along these lines, general manager Patrik Allvin admitted to the media on Saturday, that there was still no timeline for when Demko will make his season debut. On the evidence of Saturday night though, they need him back more urgently than ever.