Demko Blanks Buffalo, Notches Fourth Shutout of the Season

It wasn't the high-event hockey that has been characteristic of the Canucks this season, but their 1-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres showed resilience in a tight game.

Thatcher Demko notched his fourth shutout of the season and his first road shutout — stopping all 26 of the shots he faced. Demko has had one shutout against visiting teams every month so far: St. Louis Blues in October, Dallas Stars in November, and Florida Panthers on Roberto Luongo night in December.

“I think maybe we didn’t have our best through waves of the game but I think we recognized that pretty early on. We realized you’ve got to win dirty games sometimes,” Demko said. “I’m proud of our group for recognizing that and adjusting on the fly. Sometimes those games can sneak up on you and you’re looking in the mirror after the game, but we did a great job and a huge two points.”

The lone scorer, Sam Lafferty scored his 10th goal of the season, giving him 19 points on the season, just three points shy of his career-best of 21.

“I think it shows we can win games in different ways which is really important here down the stretch, games are going to get harder and harder,” Lafferty said.

After the game wrapped, the NHL announced the remaining 12 roster spots going to All-Star in Toronto as voted by the fans. Four Canucks, in addition to Quinn Hughes got the nod, sending Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Demko.

Head Coach Rick Tocchet, who will be coaching at the All-Star game, mentioned sending five players to All-Star is a reflection of the incredible play of the individuals themselves and a testament to the team’s performance as a whole.

“They deserve it, obviously they’ve been playing great, but it’s a representation of our team. If you ask them, they’re going as a representative for the Canucks, the jersey, the city,” Tocchet said.

Game Recap

Sam Lafferty capitalized off his hard work in the crease, screening Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on Nikita Zadorov’s shot from the point, catching the rebound on his stick and flipping it in.

The Sabres had three consecutive power plays in 11 minutes between the second and third periods, but Vancouver’s penalty kill shut down all of Buffalo’s opportunities with the man-advantage.

Tocchet loves games that allow his team to show their resolve and said today’s game was, “mucky” but a solid win.

“There’s a lot of road games and when you’re digging in like that and a lot of penalties, three in a row, I thought the guys did a hell of a job,” Tocchet said.

The Canucks travel to Ohio to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets to complete their seven-game road trip Monday, January 15th at 10 a.m. PT.