After 8 months and extensive knee rehab, Thatcher Demko returned to the Canucks crease last night in a 4-3 overtime loss to the St.Louis Blues. He made 21 saves, including five breakaways. Yes, five. That’s not exactly a recipe for success from his teammates or a great way to welcome back your star goaltender.
“Obviously, you don’t want to give a guy four or five breakaways or odd-man rushes.” Canucks, Connor Garland said. “So it’s not very good, but he’s a battler, hangs in there, makes big saves. Like I said, that’s why he’s the greatest.”
Demko, the 29-year-old native of San Diego, California, stated post-game, “It kind of felt like a whirlwind of a day. I think part of it is just trying to remember your routines. I’ve talked about managing expectations and not putting too much weight on that first game back. But obviously, as the moment builds, you’re excited to play, and you want to perform. Definitely a little bit of a weird day.”
When asked how he felt about his game; “Yeah, I mean, felt rusty for sure. Obviously, it’s frustrating losing. I thought I could of played a couple of goals differently. I’m sure that there is stuff I can pull to keep building.”
Head Coach Rick Tocchet said post-game about Demko, “I thought he was good tonight. It’s good to see him in net, he looks big. I love seeing him back in. He’s worked really hard, so I thought he did a great job for us.”
His teammates returned from a 3-1 deficit and tied the game late in the third period on another goal from Jake DeBrusk. Dakota Joshua, his first of the season, and Elias Pettersson, his eighth of the season, rounded out the Canucks scoring. Dylan Holloway scored the winner in OT for the Blues.
The Canucks are now 1-1-1 on their current 6-game homestand and welcome the Florida Panthers, to Rogers Arena, on Thursday night.
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