It's no secret that Thatcher Demko hasn't looked particularly good since returning from a rare injury not usually associated with hockey. In turn, this has led to concerns that a player who is injury-prone in general, might never return to the form which saw him finish as runner up for the Vezina Trophy last season.
Considered the number one again despite Kevin Lankinen's excellent form so far this season, Demko's stats were extremely dire compared to the other 31 starters in the league ahead of Wednesday night's game in Nashville. In fact he ranked dead last at 32 in a number of important categories, including save percentage, GAA, GPS, GSAA and RBS percentage. (He also ranked tied-31st in quality starts percentage, which technically means he was also last in this category as well.)
The Canucks have pushed hard to get Demko back into the starting role between the pipes, but he went 1-3-0 in a recent stretch of four consecutive starts and overall was 3-5-3 since coming back. When Lankinen came back in for the past two games, the team won both, including an impressive 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals, who are tied-top in the NHL in points.
Canucks take a gamble with Thatcher Demko
As a result of all this, the decision to start Demko in Nashville on Wednesday night was a risky one. However, on a night when the Canucks were second-best, the two-time NHL All-Star stepped up with his best performance of the season in a much-needed 3-1 win.
Demko faced 32 shots against the Predators, but finished with season-bests of 31 saves and a .969 save percentage in a tremendous outing. The only time he was beaten it came via a deflected shot, as the Canucks are now on a three-game winning streak which is their longest since all the way back on Nov. 7.
Most important of all though, the Canucks moved back into a playoff spot in the Western Conference, helped by improving their tremendous road record to 14-7-4. Giving everything which has happened in Vancouver this season, it's actually pretty damn impressive.
Thatcher Demko knows he needed this one
Demko was understandably as relieved as he was happy, when speaking to the media postgame. As per Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, he said:
"I kind of needed that one. It felt good to be on the winning side here, and, you know, feel like myself a little bit again. It always feels good when you win. Yeah, a lot to build off."
The Canucks were out-shot 32-22 on the night but stayed firm for the most part, including holding the Predators scoreless on three power play opportunities. (The Canucks went 1-for-3 themselves, courtesy of Puis Suter's empty-netter to clinch the win.) And yet Demko was not among the Three Stars of the Game, despite being the road team's best player on the night.
Not that the 29-year-old was bothered by this, instead being more focused on what the team did as a whole to secure the 3-1 win. As per Lindsey Horsting of NHL.com, he said:
"I think we’ve done a really good job of playing connected - playing as five. It goes zone to zone, the quicker we can get back for the breakout and help each other, the better, and that goes for the neutral zone and the offensive zone too. We just need to continue that stuff, and obviously special teams is huge."
Overall, as excellent as Demko was against the Predators, it remains to be seen if this represents the genesis of him returning to last season's form, or serves as just a brief glimpse of what he used to be able to do. Certainly, it will be interesting to discover who the Canucks start for the finally contest of this three-game road trip, on Friday night in Dallas versus the Stars.