Canucks holding their breath over critical injury to Thatcher Demko

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Liam McCormick
March 10, 2024 (11:09)

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Last night, the Vancouver Canucks may have hit a significant obstacle to the rest of their season and playoffs when goaltender Thatcher Demko was forced to leave the game with an injury. In the second period, Demko had to leave the game and be replaced by backup Casey DeSmith, and fans are beginning to hold their breath over the lack of updates. One fan identified this instance where Demko appeared to be struggling to get up after making a routine save.

Demko's reaction to that easy save was not an encouraging one, as he got up clearly favouring his mid-section. It looked like it could've been a common groin injury, one that often affects goalie near the end of a long and grinding season. If that's the case, Demko will miss a minimum of four weeks, closer to six for a full recovery. After such a long layoff, it could be difficult to come right back into play during the playoffs. The Hockey Night in Canada panel discussed a groin injury as the likely culprit.

After the game, head coach Rick Tocchet was optimistic about Demko's condition and recovery, saying he hopes it's not too serious. Demko has missed significant time in his career before, but when he's been healthy like this year, he can be a top goalie in the NHL. This year he has an incredible .917 save percentage in 49 games. That's also a heavy, heavy workload for a starting goalie.

As Oilers fans know more than anyone, good goaltending can be the difference for a team that has the firepower to win a Stanley Cup. Demko has been an integral part of the puzzle to keep Vancouver in games at times to allow their star studded offence to shine - if he goes down for any amount of time, there could be trouble in Vancouver.