Tonight, the big story was that Thatcher Demko was back manning the Canucks’ goal crease. It just felt right watching him lead the Canucks out once again.
Demko made the first save of his season just over five minutes in, and it was great to hear the Rogers Arena faithful — who kicked this game off with a spirited “Thatch-er Dem-ko!” chant — give a loud cheer for their star netminder.
The nice moments kept coming as Conor Garland moved in off the rush and sent a cross-crease pass to Dakota Joshua, who buried his first goal of the year. 1-0 Canucks.
The smile on Joshua’s face said it all as Garland went and collected the puck to give for his dear friend, whose season got off to a late start after a September cancer testicular diagnosis.
The Blues answered back quickly, as Dylan Holloway set up Zach Bolduc for a one-timer that Demko was a tad late picking up on. 1-1
Some rust was to be expected for Demko, and it showed a bit on this play he made with the puck. And that’s okay!
The first period was a bit of a snoozefest following these moments, so it was great news that the Canucks got the game’s first power play with just over four minutes remaining in the first!
Or was it?!
No, it wasn’t.
Conor Garland gambled and lost, giving Robert Thomas a shorthanded breakaway. Thomas is one of the game’s better shooters, and you knew Demko wasn’t going to have much chance on this one. 2-1 Blues.
The Canucks’ power play did look pretty good in the final minute and a half they had to work with, but ultimately didn’t score, so the Canucks trailed by a goal heading into the second period.
The work rate was high to start the second period for both teams, but both teams also struggled mightily to execute on plays. Thatcher Demko made a few solid stops along the way, but the two sides didn’t generate much at all in the second.
Carson Soucy took a cross-checking penalty to give the Blues their first power play of the night with just a hair under seven minute left in the second period. The Blues’ power play has had their issues this season, and that continued in this instance.
The referees apparently really wanted them to figure it out though, as they gifted them another one on one of the worst tripping calls you will ever see.
The Blues scored shortly after.
3-1 Blues.
With just over two minutes left in the second, the Canucks got a power play of their own, and it sure felt like they would need to match the Blues’ power play in order to stay in this game.
And that they did, as the first unit pressured the Blues’ penalty killers for nearly a full minute before Elias Pettersson found Conor Garland Colton Parayko for the backdoor tap in to make it 3-2.
The Canucks entered the third period the same way they entered the second: down by a goal.
And just like he did in the second, Thatcher Demko reminded everyone quickly why he’s one of few truly elite goaltenders in the league. Twice.
It’s a good thing Demko “put his knee through hell” before trying to return, because the Canucks’ defence was somewhere below hell tonight. Honestly, how do you give up two grade-A chances within seconds of the third period starting when you’re trailing? Just not good enough. Thankfully Demko was.
The Canucks got another power play, and while they didn’t get an official shot on goal, Elias Pettersson ripped a one-timer off the crossbar and they moved the puck around with the crispness and poise that you want to see.
After this, the Canucks really started to press. Max Sasson got a doorstep chance, that Joel Hofer stopped, and Quinn Hughes almost made some magic happen when he beat three Blues in the neutral zone and ripped a puck just high of the net.
The Canucks’ pressure on the Blues in the third was real, but the Blues continued to bend but not break.
With 2:40 remaining, the Canucks pulled Demko and looked for the equalizing goal. And after a beautiful pass from Pettersson to DeBrusk, they got that goal quickly.
3-3.
We got some 4-on-4 hockey late as Kiefer Sherwood finishing a check really offended the Blues, but it didn’t matter because this game needed overtime.
Thatcher Demko made a key stop in OT to keep the Canucks’ chances alive, but Dylan Holloway tallied his second tally of the night when he drove the outside and put a bow on this one.
Jake DeBrusk could have been better here, and Carson Soucy took away a pass that Brock Boeser already had taken away.
4-3 Blues final.
Some more takeaways from tonight:
-This is not intended to be a knock on Kevin Lankinen or Arturs Silovs, but it is almost unbelievable how different Thatcher Demko looks in the crease. He’s a Vezina-calibre goalie for a reason, and those reasons were certainly evident tonight, even if he was understandably a little rusty.
-The Friedman-Desharnais pairing certainly got bailed out by Demko a few times. I get the idea behind giving Erik Brännstrom a reset, but I’m certainly expecting him to get back into the lineup on Thursday. Hopefully Derek Forbort is ready by then too.
-The Blues did a great job of clogging the neutral zone and keeping the Canucks to the outside tonight.
-The Canucks did a bad job of moving through the neutral zone and getting into the middle of the ice tonight.
-Brock Boeser has looked less quick since returning from his head injury. Just an observation. Have to assume he’ll look better once he’s reunited with JT Miller.
-One of the more noticeable games for Nils Höglander, and it comes at a good time with Miller returning soon. Höglander was making plays, and his give-a-bleep meter was running high tonight.
What’s your takeaway from tonight?
