Thatcher Demko reminded onlookers why he鈥檚 considered one of the NHL鈥檚 top goalies on Tuesday.
The Vancouver Canucks netminder stopped all 25 saves he faced 鈥� some in dramatic fashion 鈥� and backstopped his team to a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
It was the ninth shutout of Demko鈥檚 career and his first since Jan. 22, 2024.
Over the past year, he鈥檚 suffered a rare injury, gritted through gruelling rehabilitation, and worked his way back into the Canucks鈥� crease.
鈥淗e works so hard,鈥� said Vancouver winger Brock Boeser. 鈥淗e does everything the right way. He鈥檚 such a good pro and for him to get a shutout tonight, just as one of his good friends, it鈥檚 awesome to see. And to see him make some saves like that, I鈥檓 just so happy for him.鈥�
Demko鈥檚 most impressive sequence of the night came midway through the second period when he batted away Cale Makar鈥檚 shot from the slot. Moments later, he slid all the way across his crease to kick away Artturi Lehkonen鈥檚 backdoor shot with the toe of his left skate.
Cheers of 鈥淟et鈥檚 go Demko!鈥� emanated throughout the rink during the ensuing TV timeout.
鈥淗e was outstanding,鈥� said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet.
鈥淭hose are 10-bell saves, right? And then we settled down. But I thought Demmer gave us a chance to settle us down.鈥�
A finalist for last year鈥檚 V茅zina Trophy as one of the NHL鈥檚 best goalies, Demko was sidelined last spring after injuring a muscle in his knee during the first game of Vancouver鈥檚 playoff run.
The 29-year-old from San Diego, Cali., missed training camp and didn鈥檛 play his first game of the season until Dec. 10.
With Tuesday鈥檚 win, Demko improved to 5-6-3 on the year with a .882 save percentage and a 3.03 goals-against average. Over his last three appearances, his save percentage is .943.
鈥淚 think the last three or four games, his game鈥檚 coming,鈥� Tocchet said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e gotta remember the guy鈥檚 been off so long, and he鈥檚 used to playing a good run of games. But we鈥檙e fortunate to have a guy like (goalie Kevin Lankinen). So our goaltending, we鈥檙e in good shape with goaltending.鈥�
For Demko, getting a shutout is nice, but it鈥檚 repetition that matters.
鈥淵ou gotta do it again,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know where my game鈥檚 at right now. There鈥檚 been some games that probably didn鈥檛 reflect that.
鈥淪ometimes that鈥檚 the challenging part as a player, is being able to have confidence and trust in yourself internally when you know externally, it might not look that way. So I know what direction I鈥檓 headed, and certainly tonight was a good game.鈥�
The goalie also credited the defensive performance in front of him on Tuesday and noted that players stepped up in the absence of captain Quinn Hughes, who missed a second straight game with an undisclosed injury.
鈥淥bviously, Huggy leaves a huge hole in our lineup, but it鈥檚 always a next man up,鈥� Demko said. 鈥淓very year, whatever team you鈥檙e on, it鈥檚 just kind of the nature of the business, you gotta be ready to go for situations like that. So we鈥檙e obviously eager for him to return, but in the meantime, we gotta get the job done.鈥�
