Insider clears the air on speculation surrounding Thatcher Demko's injury status online

By ARJUN B

Modified Apr 27, 2024 05:21 GMT

Hockey Insider Elliotte Friedman recently shared an update on the injury status of Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.

Thatcher Demko suffered an undisclosed injury during the Canucks' 4-2 win against the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. He missed Games 2 and 3.

Initially, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said Thatcher Demko would be out on a week-to-week basis and would miss at least the next few playoff games. However, Friedman provided additional insight into the situation during a recent appearance on Sportsnet.

"One word I keep hearing is unique, it is a unique kind of injury and they're not really sure. They're hopeful it is not bad as they originally thought, they don't want to put any time frame on it, aside from what Tocchet said week-to-week," Friedman stated on Thatcher Demko.

Friedman added,

"But I don't think this is something that could be solved by surgery and they have to rest him and see how he responds… The word I keep hearing is they really don’t know what the time frame is right now."

Thatcher Demko missed 14 games late in the regular season due to a separate lower-body injury.

Canucks win Game 3 despite Thatcher Demko's absence

The Vancouver Canucks took a 2-1 series lead against the Nashville Predators with a 2-1 victory in Game 3. J.T. Miller opened the scoring for the Canucks on the power play at 13:23 of the first period.

Quinn Hughes set up Miller with a pass above the left circle, and Miller's wrist shot beat Juuse Saros on the glove side.

Brock Boeser extended Vancouver's lead to 2-0 early in the second period with another power-play tally.

The Canucks capitalized on two of their three power-play opportunities in the game, while the Predators went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Nashville managed to get on the board late in the third period when Luke Evangelista cut the deficit to 2-1 at 16:48. After receiving a pass from Jason Zucker, Evangelista maneuvered to the inside of the left circle and beat Casey DeSmith on the glove side.

DeSmith turned in a strong performance for the Canucks in Demko's absence. He made 29 saves to secure the victory. Saros stopped 10 shots for the Predators in the losing effort.

“It couldn’t come at a better time," DeSmith said of his first playoff victory. "I was really disappointed with how I played the other night… And tonight, I thought we really brought it. We earned that one. So it means a lot.”

The series now shifts back to Game 4 as the Canucks look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.