According to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, Vancouver Canucks starting goaltender Thatcher Demko is set to miss Game 2 of the team’s first-round series against the Nashville Predators and could potentially miss the rest of the series. The Canucks will rely on Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs in the crease in Demko’s absence. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed the report, indicating that Demko is injured, possibly with a re-aggravation of the lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup from March 9 to April 16. During Demko’s absence at the end of the regular season, the Canucks had a 7-5-2 record, with a 2.86 goals against average and a .884 save percentage. In Sunday night’s Game 1 against the Predators, Demko played all 60 minutes, saving 20 of 22 shots on goal. DeSmith has a 12-9-6 record this season over 27 starts, with a 2.89 GAA and a .895 SV%. Like Demko, he has limited playoff experience, with his only postseason appearance coming two years ago with the Pittsburgh Penguins when he earned an overtime win against the New York Rangers after stopping 48 of 51 shots. Before the start of the playoffs, the Canucks had the second-highest odds of winning the Stanley Cup, but those odds have certainly decreased with Demko’s injury. However, the Canucks can take some solace in the fact that both Conference Champions from last year’s playoffs started the postseason with different goalies than they started with. The Colorado Avalanche also had to use backup goalie Pavel Francouz in their pursuit of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canucks will need their team to step up in front of their goaltenders if they hope to make a deep playoff run this postseason.
Canucks’ Demko Out for Game 2, Injury Could Sideline Him for Series
