That performance earned him the nickname Bubble Demko because the 2020 playoffs were played in a controlled environment without fans due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. He said he is prouder of what he is doing now.
"I'm a little sick of people talking about the Bubble Demko thing," he said. "It was awesome, but it was just three games, and I knew I had a lot more to prove. Last year, I felt like I flirted with it a little bit, and this year I really wanted to come in and just nail down that consistency and prove I could do it on a nightly basis."
Demko is 15-11-1 in 27 starts this season, and his .920 save percentage is 10th among goalies who have played at least 15 games. That may not jump out as worthy of a potential Vezina finalist, but much like his .915 save percentage last season, some of Demko's statistics have been suppressed by the amount of high-quality scoring chances Vancouver allowed under Green.
If those chances continue to be reduced with the Canucks spending more time at the other end of the rink under Boudreau, and Demko's statistical floor remains raised, then the impact teammates have already noted should be easier for others to see.
Adapting to what Demko called a "different vibe" under Boudreau is also part of the learning curve. Goalies won't complain about an easier workload, but adjusting to it isn't always simple.
"We've all seen him steal games, but what about the game where he's less busy and less acrobatic?" Canucks goaltending coach Ian Clark said. "Can he manage a game where he's just making routine stops and not make mistakes? That can be a tough challenge. Some goalies excel in higher-shot games and some excel in lower-shot games, but to be elite and put together a 60-plus-game resume worthy of being one of the top goalies in the NHL, you have to be able to win all kinds of different games, and that's an area [where] he's shown continued improvement."
Clark, who was the Columbus Blue Jackets goaltending coach when current Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovksy won the Vezina twice with Columbus (2013, 2017), continues to work with Demko to improve on technique for a position that keeps evolving. But Clark said Demko has already put a lot of his foundational work "in the rearview mirror."
Beyond keeping those structural technical elements sharp, a lot of the work ahead will be between the ears. That shouldn't be a problem for Demko, who was a psychology major at Boston College.
"We have a ceiling on our physical capacities," Demko said. "Everyone is talented in this league, so it's got to be something else that separates guys and I think the mental side is the thing that does that. There's no ceiling on mental capacity, so you can always keep building in that regard, and the great goalies in the League, that's what they're always preaching too. It's all up top."
Time will tell if it's enough to put Demko at the top at the end of the season, and beyond.
"We know he's capable of it," Clark said. "We've all seen those elite performances. But to be in the air of the greats, there's a longevity required performing at that level. I believe he has that in him.
"I watch how he conducts himself daily, his work habits, personal discipline, competitiveness, all the intangible prerequisites for that level, he possesses. Now it's a matter of time."
