As if the Vancouver Canucks needed more drama, they're dealing with some once again – this time, once again on the injury front.

Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko, who missed all but one postseason game last spring and the first several weeks of this season, has departed Saturday night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with another apparent injury; backup Kevin Lankinen is now between the pipes for the Canucks.

There was nothing during the game that suggested Demko suffered an injury because of a collision, an awkward save or anything else.

Demko has been limited to just nine games so far this season, and entered the contest against the Leafs with a 6-6-3 record, a 2.90 goals-against average, a .889 save percentage and one lone shutout.

Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has already missed most of the season

Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (35) watches the rebound against the Nashville Predators in game one of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Arena
Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
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Demko already departed one game in early January this season with back spasms; he missed time afterward before eventually returning.

Following a particularly disappointing loss against the Buffalo Sabres, Demko acknowledged that his performance and confidence was lacking, via The Daily Hive.

“I don’t think I’ve been good enough this year so far,” he said. “I’ve got to keep working to find that level that I know I can get to. I’ll be the first guy working on my game, day in, day out.”

“I’ve just got to try and get a piece of one of those in the third you know? Got a piece of the first one and it snuck through so it’s disappointing.”

“Sometimes you fall out of touch with the game a bit, just your natural reads and things like that. Obviously, you can’t manufacture confidence, you have to work for it and keep grabbing it. Focus on the little things and making sure that the work ethic and the attention to detail is there.”

The Canucks have already played long stretches of this season with Lankinen as the de-facto starter, and could be on their way to doing so again.