Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko out two to three weeks with knee injury

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko will miss the next two to three weeks while recovering from a knee injury, TSN’s Farhan Lalji reported Monday morning.

Demko, 28, left Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets after playing just 26:40 and was replaced by backup Casey DeSmith. The two goaltenders combined for a 5-0 shutout victory over the Jets.

Lalji confirmed on Monday that Demko suffered a knee injury and will be out less than a month, with DeSmith expected to shoulder much of the load for the Canucks’ upcoming games against the Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and Calgary Flames.

The Athletic writer and Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reported on Monday that Demko’s injury is not related to anything he has previously dealt with. Of course, Demko’s 2022-23 season was derailed due to a groin injury.

“I’m also hearing so far it’s a best-case scenario for the Canucks. He will likely miss less than a month,” Dhaliwal said on Monday’s episode of Donnie & Dhali. “The Canucks will call up a goalie, obviously from Abbotsford. The good news: it’s not the groin.”

The Canucks have built up a 10-point cushion over the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division, so Demko’s absence is unlikely to put their playoff hopes in peril, and as Lalji noted, the Canucks are coming up on a relatively soft portion of their schedule.

In any event, it’s been pretty smooth sailing of late for this Canucks team. After an up-and-down February, they’ve won four consecutive games to kick off the month of March. J.T. Miller, Nils Höglander, Phil Di Giuseppe, Elias Pettersson, and Pius Suter all scored in the win over the Jets on Hockey Night in Canada.

Demko has been one of the Canucks’ most valuable players all season long, being named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game while being widely considered one of the frontrunners for the Vezina Trophy. The San Diego, California product has a 34-13-2 record, a .917 save percentage, and five shutouts in 49 games with the Canucks this season.

The Canucks are slated to return to action on Wednesday evening to take on the Avalanche at 7:30 p.m. PT.