The Vancouver Canucks announced that goalie Thatcher Demko is sidelined for tonight’s game after suffering a lower-body injury. He left the morning skate due to that ailment.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko will not dress Monday against the Senators due to a lower-body injury.https://t.co/KTinBA6Xk1
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 26, 2021
Thatcher Demko Out Monday
Vancouver head coach Travis Green told the media the news after Monday’s practice. Braden Holtby will get the start with Arturs Silovs now the backup for the game against the Ottawa Senators.
Demko is 12-13-1 in 26 games played and started this season, with a .917 save percentage and 2.74 goals-against-average. The San Diego native has only started once since the month of April. Ottawa beat Demko in that start on April 22.
The former Boston College product has only played for the Canucks in his four-year NHL career. He has a career record of 30-26-4 in 63 career games with the club. He has one career shutout and a 2.90 goals-against-average with the team. Demko has a career save percentage of .911. Vancouver took him in the second round, 36th overall of the 2014 NHL Draft.
Demko has represented the United States at the international level at the 2013 IIHF Under 18 event. He’s also played for Team USA at the World Juniors and the 2019 IIHF World Championships.
What This Means for the Future
The injury comes at a bad time as the Canucks are still trying to complete a 56-game schedule. However, the COVID-19 outbreak that incapacitated the team has forced the club to play many games in a short span.
Holtby has been getting a good share of the starts, but Demko seems to be the future of the club in net. Vancouver doesn’t want to have to rely on an inexperienced goalie like Silovs to be the number two behind Holtby. The Canucks did send Michael DiPietro back to the Utica Comets of the AHL after his spell on the taxi squad.
Vancouver does have a back-to-back Wednesday in Ottawa and Thursday in Toronto.
