Vancouver Canucks
Thatcher Demko could return for the Canucks at some point during the Western Conference Second Round against the Edmonton Oilers.
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said Sunday his No. 1 goalie won’t play Game 1 of the best-of-7 series but is making progress in his recovery from an injury sustained late during the opener of Vancouver’s six-game series victory against the Nashville Predators in the first round April 29.
“You always hope,” Tocchet said when asked if he “hopes or expects” Demko back against the Oilers. “The expect, I mean, things change day to day, but there has been improvement. … From my experience, it's a slow process and all of a sudden, two, three days later [it becomes], 'Oh man, I really feel good.' I don't know where it's at in that sense. It has improved, but to what percentage? I don't know.”
It's been two weeks since the injury, and he remains listed as week to week. But Demko, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie, skated in Nashville ahead of a series-clinching Game 6 victory Friday.
Demko was 35-14-2 with a 2.45 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and five shutouts despite missing five weeks late in the regular season with a knee injury. He played the final two games of the season before getting injured in the playoff opener against the Predators, but Tocchet said at time it was not related to the previous knee injury.
Tocchet wouldn’t say which of his other goalies will start Game 1 against the Oilers. Backup Casey DeSmith, who won both his starts against Edmonton in the regular season, played Games 3 and 4 against Nashville before missing Game 5 with an injury. Third-string goalie Arturs Silovs took over for the final three games, with DeSmith backing up the last two, and went 2-1 with a .938 save percentage that included a series-clinching 28-save shutout in Game 6.
“[Goaltending coach Ian Clark] and I go through the same thing,” Tocchet said of the decision process on who starts against Edmonton. “You go through the team you are playing, the play of the goalie, how many practices he's had … it's the same thing.” -- Kevin Woodley