Canucks’ Thatcher Demko out through at least Game 4 against Oilers

The 28-year-old has been out with an unspecified injury since Game 1 against the Nashville Predators. The Canucks still managed to close out the series in six games, with Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs taking over the rest of the way. Silovs, the team’s third-stringer, registered a shutout in the series-clincher.

Demko was healthy for most of the 2023-24 regular season until a knee injury on March 9 sidelined him out of the lineup for over a month, and Vancouver placed him on long-term injured reserve. Reports noted that there was no correlation between Demko’s previous injury and the new one.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record in 51 games played this season, with a 2.45 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and five shutouts. The San Diego, California products play helped the Canucks clinch a division title for the first time in 11 years and is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender.

Silovs is expected to be the team’s No. 1 to open up the second round. The 23-year-old had a 3-0-1 run during the regular season and went 2-1 against the Preds, registering a 1.70 GAA and .938 save percentage.

The Canucks are set to open the best-of-seven series at home on Wednesday at 7:00 PM local time. Game 2 will take place Friday before the series shifts to Edmonton for games on Sunday and Tuesday. The earliest Demko could return is Thursday, May 16 back in Vancouver.