Vancouver Canucks number-one goalie Thatcher Demko returned to action for the first time since December 1st, coming off a groin injury that kept him out six weeks longer than expected. He stole a win for the Canucks on Monday night, a 5-4 overtime victory at the Dallas Stars.
“I know I was good to go coming into the game, I wanted to make sure that I had that confidence in my body before I was fully back in the line-up and playing a game,” Demko said postgame. “Hopefully just keep building the game, there’s gonna be some rust, there’s always some rust, so just keep working and try to get better each game we play.”
“It’s how much work he put in, he didn’t miss a beat,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said postgame. “Just from afar I was always a fan, I’m a bigger fan now, he played great tonight.”
Demko stopped 34 of 38 shots-on-goal.
“Pretty crazy day, just leading up to it, a little bit of nerves, a little bit of anxiety,” Demko added. “You want to make sure you’re ready to go and hopping back in. It feels great getting the job done, feels good being back with the guys.”
The victory didn’t help the Canucks with their NHL Draft Lottery ping pong ball odds, but it does bode well for this goalie in his prime. We’re still not sure where the Demko trade talk comes from for a vast number of reasons.
Golden Memories
Tuesday marks the 13th anniversary of Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal and Team Canada’s 3-2 overtime win over Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
“Iginla … Crosby scores!” Yelled the great play-by-play man Chris Cuthbert as Sid slid the puck underneath American goaltender Ryan Miller. “Sidney Crosby, the Golden Goal! And Canada, has once in a lifetime Olympic Gold!”
They’ve won it before and since, but never in this fashion. The goal came at 7:40 of OT following a lot of nail-biting.
Canucks forward Ryan Kesler had scored for USA Hockey during the game.
Vancouver Hockey Insider had a chance to chat with Cuthbert and not-a-direct-cousin “Simmer”, Craig Simpson in the broadcast booth between periods of the Maple Leafs – Kraken game on Sunday. Always a delight, and was reminded that Cuthbert has actually been with Hockey Night in Canada and the Leafs longer than we remembered, actually since “the bubble playoffs” in Edmonton.
He’s in his rightful place as the voice of hockey in Canada.
Meanwhile, it appears NHLers will finally have a chance to return to the Olympics with the Games coming up in Italy in 2026 after the league skipped the last two. A portion of an entire cycle/generation of players may have missed out on their chance to play for their respective countries on the world’s biggest stage. We’ll see how it shakes out.
— The Canucks start a six-game home stand against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday evening at Rogers Arena.
Enjoy the Hockey Action !!
