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Thatcher Demko hasn't dressed for the Vancouver Canucks since the opening game of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but that absence is set to end at Rogers Arena on Friday night.
Demko will return to the lineup when the Canucks host the Columbus Blue Jackets; he'll back up Kevin Lankinen, who has 12 wins in 18 starts this season.
“Yeah, obviously been looking forward to it for a while now but I've told you guys plenty of times I'm a guy that is pretty day-to-day,” Demko told reporters, including NHL.com's Kevin Woodley, on Thursday. “Obviously, I'm looking at the schedule and I'm in a position now to kind of look down the road and see what's ahead. So, it's been good.”
The 28-year-old returned to practice three weeks ago, and had his own net at Vancouver's skate on Thursday. Head coach Rick Tocchet said Demko is an option to start as soon as Sunday night against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.
“We have a practice tomorrow,” Tocchet said Friday, per Woodley. “I'll talk to ‘Demmer' after practice and we'll go from there. If it's the next game or the next game after that, we're not quite sure. I'm gonna talk to Demmer but I definitely want to get a good practice tomorrow then talk to Demmer about it.”
Demko, who was a Vezina trophy finalist last year, sustained a knee injury late in Game 1 of Round 1 against the Nashville Predators on April 21. That was his first game back after missing nearly six weeks rehabbing a separate knee injury from late in the 2023-24 regular-season.
Friday night will mark the first of a six-game homestand for the Canucks, who have improved to 13-7-4 after winning four of their last six. And Lankinen, who will likely soon be relegated to backup duties, has been a huge reason why.
Kevin Lankinen has performed admirably between the pipes
Lankinen has been excellent in the crease throughout the campaign. Although many expected Arturs Silovs to carry the load without Demko — especially after his postseason performance — Lankinen has proven to be the much more capable goaltender.
After signing in British Columbia in the offseason, the Swede is 12-3-3, adding a 2.66 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. He won an NHL record 10 consecutive road games to open the campaign, per Woodley, and should continue to get starts as Demko slowly ramps up to a full workload.
“First of all, I want to give ‘Lanks’ all the credit in the world, he's been unbelievable,” Demko said on Friday, per Woodley. “For me, I'm managing my expectations a little bit. I think it'd be foolish to say that I'm going to come back and be perfectly sharp and feel like I have my A-game in Game One. That takes a little bit of time just seeing game reps and things is kind of a last step of fully doing rehab, so I'm not really putting an expectation on that.
“Obviously, the way ‘Lanks’ has played kind of takes a little bit of pressure off myself to come in and not feel like I have to save the world.”
Having Demko back in the lineup is a massive boost for this team, and if he can find his form from last season, the Canucks again project as contenders in the Western Conference.
Puck drop between Vancouver and Columbus is set for just past 10:00 p.m. ET on Friday night.
