The Vancouver Canucks have been without goaltender Thatcher Demko since Game 1 of the opening round of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs; he subsequently missed the entire exhibition schedule as well as Training Camp.
However, the latest update on his condition will have Canucks fans everywhere smiling. Demko will be joining his teammates for their upcoming road trip, which takes them out east for matchups against the Ottawa Senators along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings.
And while there’s no specific timeline as to when he’ll be strapping on the pads again, he’s happy that there’s “light at the end of the tunnel” as he explained via NHL.com.
“It’s obviously been a long road, so it’s nice to be back with the guys a little bit, definitely a little more energy, a little pepper in my step coming back and being out with those guys,” Demko said. “Still a lot of work to do, I think, but I feel really good.
It’s the best I felt, obviously, in 7-8 months, so [I] finally have a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel, for sure, and have a lot of direction in what we’re trying to accomplish and we’ve gotten some huge progress and big jumps the last probably two, three, four weeks, so we’re moving in the right direction,” he continued.”
The Canucks take on the Senators on Saturday from Canadian Tire Centre.
The Canucks have fared better than expected without Thatcher Demko
Despite Demko’s absence, the Canucks have been fortunate that newcomer Kevin Lankinen has performed as well as anyone could have expected when he signed a one-year contract prior to the season.
Lankinen has gone 8-3-2 and all but officially took over the role as Vancouver’s de facto starter after Arturs Silovs experienced struggles.
But the Canucks will be grateful to have Demko back between the pipes in the near future; Lankinen will likely be relegated to the backup role, while Silovs will likely return for more seasoning in the American Hockey League.
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