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The Stanchies: Attention shifts to Demko after Canucks’ loss to Jets
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Stanchion
Nov 12, 2025, 03:36 ESTUpdated: Nov 12, 2025, 04:14 EST
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The Winnipeg Jets rolled into town Tuesday night, leaving with a 5-3 win and I assume celebratory hot dogs at the Costco across the street. And much like when you see the rats that roam up and down Expo Boulevard near Rogers Arena, sometimes all you want to do is pretend that everything is fine and that health codes are up to proper standards.
But unfortunately for Vancouver, both Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko sustained injuries during the loss to the Jets. In Demko’s case, he left after the first period and never returned, whereas Quinn Hughes left briefly, only to return minutes later through what I assume were magical physiotherapy techniques learned from 1980s movies about karate tournaments.
You can take nothing for granted in sports, and much less so when it comes to Vancouver, so who knows what the status of Quinn Hughes will be going forward. For his part, he seemed almost inspired by the fact that his body briefly let him down, as he turned in a vintage performance where he attempted to will his team to victory, one blue line dangle at a time. Amusingly enough, he ended up leading both teams in ice time with a whopping 28:17 minutes.
Maybe after the adrenaline wears off, we will hear a different tale, but for now, you can probably be cautiously optimistic that he will play 42 minutes next game.
As for Demko, he of the infamous “maintenance day” cloud of rhetoric that has followed him around the past week, I won’t even begin to hazard a guess as to his status. Him being injured shouldn’t be a shock at this point, as it feels like his body struggles with the day-to-day rigours of NHL hockey at the best of times now. Goaltending in the NHL can break down even the strongest of people, as the position has come a long way from 5’4″ Darren Pang strapping a pair of pillows from Grandma’s couch to his legs, casually standing straight up while Gretzky slid his sixth goal of the game passed him, to the almost robotic like, technical nature the crease demands you contort your body into now.
It’s almost hard to imagine the days when Roberto Luongo played 70+ games for four straight seasons, whereas now, when a goalie plays over 60 games, you start to worry for their health. Hell, take the Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina winner, as a case study for how many games is too many for a goalie. Connor has played four straight seasons of 60+ games, and his playoff performances haven’t come anywhere close to what he does in the regular season, which invariably leads to talk of load management and mean-spirited memes.
Which is why it must be all the more frustrating for the Canucks and Thatcher Demko, because for all the hubbub surrounding the “maintenance days” and the “is he injured or not injured” questions, it felt like they were trying to do right by Demko. He felt sore? He wanted to rest up? Sounds good, that sounds reasonable. At the end of the day, Demko taking time off to make sure he didn’t overexert himself made all the sense in the world, white noise aside.
Yet here we stand, watching another game in which Demko has injured himself, despite taking precautions.
And again, I don’t know what this means for Demko, as we don’t know the extent of the injury. According to Trevor Beggs, a Canucks spokesperson has said the injury is unrelated to the maintenance days taken off, which feels like a worse scenario? Either way, I think it’s safe to say that the Canucks are at a path in which relying on him being healthy enough to provide a 60+ master class of a season like he did back in 2022 is no longer a possibility, and now we’re left wondering if can even manage 50. Which is probably why they signed Kevin Lankinen to that contract in the offseason, in the hopes he would play like he did at the start of last season, to help platoon you through a year with solid goaltending.
But for a team already dealing with injuries and depth issues to begin with, that rebuild talk the Canucks wanted nothing to do with? It might be forcing their hand sooner than they’d like. Because when you watch a game like the one on Tuesday night, you can see the effort the team is putting out there. It wasn’t a case of the team being checked out or not trying hard enough. They just simply don’t have the guns to keep up with top teams. You’re basically relying on Quinn Hughes going supernova, Elias Pettersson finding his smile, one of Evander Kane’s three thousand shots on the night going in, and your goaltending drawing upon the power of Dominik Hasek to steal you some wins.
And that is not a recipe for success, no matter what that angry guy on Reddit tells you.
Let’s get into this one.
Best Portage & Main Dagger
Look, man, we were done. Jonathan Toews won his Stanley Cups; he won most of the series against Vancouver. Our business together was finished.
Yet here we are in the year 2025, and he’s out here booting pucks into the net like a young Bob Cameron:
If you’re thinking the Canucks’ defensive coverage on this goal looks sloppier than a steak at Truffonis, then congratulations — your gut instincts serve you well. The goal almost looks too easy from Winnipeg’s side of things, as they basically move in on Fil Hronek and Quinn Hughes in the corner and pounce on a rare fumble of the puck from the Canucks captain, before feeding the puck to the point where Josh Morrissey is able to send the puck into the skates of Toews for the redirect.
You also have to give a lot of credit to Cole Perfetti on this goal, as he basically uses hockey foreplay on the puck to just ever so softly caress the pass from Vladislav Namestnikov to change its trajectory, which really throws off Jake DeBrusk, who had charged in to make a play on the puck. After Jake biffs on the defensive effort, the point is wide open, and Morrissey takes the time and space given to him to send in the perfect pass/shot.
Best reaction
Something tells me we are going to get a lot of mileage out of this gif. You can almost see the meter going all the way to “oof size” at the end of the clip.
Best cherish these moments
At this point I assume anytime Demko has to stretch to make a save, I wonder if something in his body has broken. Was this the save that caused issues? I don’t know, but it was a pretty big save on Cole Perfetti either way:
The astute of you out there will notice that this feels like a long stretch of hockey in which opponents are looking for back-door tap-ins on the Vancouver Canucks. Whether that is specifically being done to target something Vancouver is doing, or simply a strategy more teams are leaning on, all we know is that we have seen our fair share of them in Canucks games as of late.
It also feels like a really big opportunity for the Penthouse to come up with a funny sign, if we’re being honest.
Best finding their feet
Linus Karlsson got the first, official, “hey that maybe could have gone in, what a time to be alive” moment of the game for the Canucks, when he spun out from behind the net and attempted to jam the puck in behind Hellebuyck:
I think the plan failed because Linus didn’t drag the puck between his legs to shoot it. Come on, Linus, we know you’ve got that move in your bag, don’t hold out on us like that.
Dumping the puck in? Between the legs.
Passing the puck? Between the legs.
In the drive-through for Starbucks? I don’t know how, but I still believe in your ability to get that coffee between your legs.
Best bang for your buck
My Farts Stink is correct, Kiefer Sherwood is in line for a hefty payday if this keeps up:
Quinn Hughes got a 5-on-5 assist on this play, something that has been a struggle for him this year. And this wasn’t some secondary assist where he touched the puck two periods ago but was still given a point, no no, this goal was very much a product of Quinn Hughes running into the room and shouting at Kiefer Sherwood, “Do you wanna build a snowman??” before taking off for the offensive zone.
It’s actually one of the prettier goals of the season from the Canucks in that it didn’t involve shooting from the point and wondering if someone will kick it in by accident. It’s essentially a slick little give-and-go as Hughes drives hard into the zone, drops the puck to Kiefer, who sends it back, thus thoroughly confusing former Canuck Luke Schenn into having no idea what’s happening. All he knows is he’s scared and he wants it to be over.
By the time Kiefer gets the puck back, Schenn just wants to go for a line change, so Sherwood snipes the puck home for the goal.
Best shark facts
I do have to correct this; it was not a headlock. Accusing Conor Garland of deploying a headlock is to take away the subtlety and mastery you’re watching on display. No, Corolla is simply leaning down on the head of Alex Iafallo, using the power of science and physics at his disposal:
This is one of the many reasons I assume playing against Garland seems well-suited as a threat against troublesome children. “If you don’t go to bed right now, I’ll make you battle for a puck along the boards against Conor Garland!” feels like a good way to gain compliance.
And with the Canucks on the power play, while Conor Garland was legally and rightfully free on the ice, Vancouver made it 2-1 Canucks after Quinn Hughes dialled in long distance to send in Jake DeBrusk on a bit of a rush:
I don’t think many of us were expecting Jake to score from that angle, but he’s a deceptive shooter and has trained up many a Pokémon in his time, so who are we to question El Dandy.
Best bargaining power
Tom Willander continues to earn his stay with the parent club, I assume due to a healthy mix of enjoying an NHL contract as well as happily staying away from the 11-game losing streak the farm team is currently enjoying. Having a Calder Cup line in the NHL is all fun and games until you start to deal with the prospect of the Abbotsford Canucks gunning for a 10-win season.
One of the mainstays of Willander’s game is his effortless skating, which he put on display when he chased down a pass from Kiefer Sherwood, before sending it back for the one-timer in the slot:
You know how you know Kiefer Sherwood is feeling it? He was beaver-tailing his stick on the ice, loud enough to scare my dog. Dude was out here slamming and calling for the puck, and he’s not wrong to do it. Luke Schenn almost had PTSD watching Kiefer work another give-and-go in front of him.
Best all things must come to an end
The Canucks penalty killing has been hot garbage this season, due to a variety of reasons:
  • Derek Forbort injury
  • Trading away Dakota Joshua
  • Not re-signing Pius Suter
  • Tocchet’s GOTI system leaving town
  • Bees
So while it wasn’t shocking to see the Jets score with the man advantage, this one did feel more self-inflicted for Vancouver than usual:
I don’t love Marcus Pettersson feeding Kiefer Sherwood with a pass in coverage in front of his own net? He literally has the entire boards behind the net to clear the puck around, to an empty point no less? But for some reason, the game plan he went with was “feed the hot hand, give it to Kiefer,” which led to Sherwood looking like “wtf do you want me to do with this?” before spinning and firing the puck out of the zone without looking.
Which again, and not to beat a dead horse, but the right point was completely unmanned for the duration of this play, emptier than a high-priced downtown Vancouver condo. If Sherwood spins and puts it to that side of the ice, it’s cleared out of the zone.
But instead, he fires it back into traffic for reasons, and even worse, he sends it towards the Chaos Giraffe. Which means, of course, the puck hits Tyler Myers before careening perfectly towards Josh Morrissey, who then unloads a slapshot that Sherwood reaches out and deflects past his own goalie.
It was the perfect nightmare of mistakes that led to the Jets’ second goal of the game, but also underscores how the penalty kill is probably overthinking things at the moment.
They went from Marcus Pettersson having an easy out along the boards to Kiefer Sherwood panic-shooting a puck into Tyler Myers before tipping the next shot past his goalie.
Best live, die, repeat
About 15 seconds later, the Jets struck again, and this time it once again was a case of them forcing the Canucks into making mistakes:
Iafallo basically sons Defensive By Nature Elias Pettersson on a puck that’s been dumped into the corner. EP25 is a physical dude who loves himself a battle, so when Al comes in with speed, Elias is getting ready to throw down with him in the corner. Shoulder on shoulder, mano a mano, a true contest of physical prowess where whoever walks out the victor becomes the lord of the manor.
Except Al slaps his stick away and jumps around him, teaching EP25 a valuable lesson he could have learned from reading Game of Thrones. So while Elias was waiting to bang for the puck, Iafallo outplays him with a very smart maneuver, and now he has the puck with time and space.
This leads to Max Sasson, who, as much as I enjoy him as a player, does struggle defensively at times. And on this play, he hesitates on watching the puck battle in the corner and keeping an eye on Adam Lowry, who is prowling the centre of the ice. Max sees Al slip by Elias, so he makes a play at the puck, which releases Lowry and gives him an outlet. Lowry then circles the net and sends the puck towards Nino Niederreiter, who taps in the puck as Tom Willander handily loses the physical battle with him in the crease.
Like, it’s not the sexiest goal of the year, but hot damn, it was clinical. Just a smart play by a line playing like they had mustard in their back pocket, against some younger players on the Canucks who probably learned some valuable lessons in life on the play. Sasson is going to put up motivational posters in his apartment about life being a journey, not a destination.
I also think when you look at how the Canucks were generating scoring chances, you realize how often they rely on just shooting into traffic:
And hey, this almost works, as Conor Garland almost taps in the rebound.
It just doesn’t feel like a very empowering way to play. You’re hoping for a bounce rather than creating your own good looks on net.
Best call out
Thomas called it, Demko did not return to the game after the first period. Here is a clip of him moving slowly and feeling out his body before calling it a night:
Kevin Lankinen, your time is now.
Best going back to the well
Lankinen’s first big test came when Namestnikov charged hard toward the net and attempted to accidentally-on-purpose have a puck bank in off of his skates:
The Jets forward ended up slamming his ribs into the crossbar and needed several moments of “why is metal so hard” reflection, but the point remains: teams are crashing the net and looking for tap-ins at a high rate in Vancouver.
Best noble quest
With Demko out, there was a noticeable pallor that came over the crowd. Not even Crazy P was attempting to power bomb a child into screaming “GO CANUCKS GO”, as the building kind of deflated early in the second period.
Which is where you can give credit to the Canucks, as they did continue to press on the attack, even if none of the saves Hellebuyck made would register on Quinn Hughes’ scale of insanity.
Planet Ice made sure he continued to pile up shots on the night, as Evander Kane got two of his eventual eight on the night on this shift:
Kane is a volume shooter, so it’s not like he’s out here dialling up high-danger chances on every shot. A lot of the time, he’s in the corner or sitting on the bench, and he’s out here firing on net, using the beer league tradition of turning to your buddy and saying you thought you saw net. “Almost had him, bro!”
But don’t get me wrong, I enjoy that part of his game? I find it weirdly endearing to see Planet Ice out there racking up almost 10 shots a game every other night. If I’m Rick Tocchet, I get the Flyers to trade for Kane so I can add 10 shots on goal per game to get rid of the low-shot narrative.
I also look forward to the night when Kane’s shooting percentage goes absolutely off the rails and he ends up with a four-goal night.
It wasn’t just Kane, though, as Jake DeBrusk almost tied the game up on the tail end of a rush with Drew O’Connor and Aatu Räty:
That’s the kind of mustard in your back pocket chance you want to see from the Canucks. That’s a play with purpose and precision, and if it wasn’t for a save just bordering on the edge of insanity, DeBrusk ties that game up right there.
You also had Fil Hronek lining up and sending a piss missile that clanked off the post:
I though the second period was one of the better periods in which Vancouver used speed on the rush to back the defenders up, before finding a trailing player and giving them time and space to shoot.
Best avert your eyes
With the Canucks unable to generate the tying goal, they ran into their worst fear: life without Quinn Hughes:
It feels like a nothing burger of a play, but one can only assume that while hooking with his stick, Hughes tweaked something. With the way his arm was dangling after the injury, you could guess it was shoulder-related. It could also be his wrist or arm — who knows at this point. “Upper body” and “lower body” is all we get in the NHL. Quinn Hughes could have his arm pop off, and I would still hesitate on whether the NHL would list it as upper or lower body.
And while that clip certainly looks serious, and Quinn Hughes took plenty of time before he left the ice due to said injury, he would later return to the bench just in time to make a power play three minutes later. I won’t say it was Paul Pierce-esque, as this didn’t involve pooping himself, but the vibe itself from the crowd was that of welcoming back their fallen hero.
He would immediately shoot a puck from the point that would tip off four Canucks players before just hitting Hellebuyck’s shoulder, and from that point onwards, it felt like Quinn Hughes was going to try to will the team to a win by himself.
Best graphic but accurate
Best doing his part
Mark Scheifele is probably wondering where the Kevin Lankinen that has struggled this season has gone after he got absolutely robbed by the Canucks netminder:
I think we can all agree that this save would clearly make Quinn Hughes’ Scale of Insanity.
Best just keep shooting baby
Kiefer Sherwood doing his part by taking a shot and then getting to the rebound so he can feed Planet Ice for the shot:
Which again, I can’t critique this. This is the good stuff. If a guy wants to get 15 shots on the night, have at it, let’s go. I’m telling you, there will be a four-goal game from Evander Kane at one point if he keeps this up.
Best crashing halt
Alas, the Canucks answer to no nut November continues to be their paltry penalty kill, as Gabriel Vilardi would put the dagger into the heart of the Canucks with this spinning backhanded laser:
Unlike the first power play goal, this at least didn’t feel like the Canucks handed the goal to the Jets. That’s a pretty damn good shot from Vilardi, with the only critique I can give being that the Canucks diamond penalty kill sort of melted away from Vilardi and let him get the pass to begin with.
After that, though, that’s the kind of backhand goal where Vilardi is 100% checking his group chat after the game to see their reaction to it.
Best if wishes were fishes
Later in the third, the Canucks looked like they might have pulled within a goal after Boeser almost put in a Willander rebound, but much like stupid sexy Flanders, sometimes a butt won’t quit:
That puck most likely slid in when Hellebuyck sat down on it, but there was zero video proof of that puck ever crossing the line.
Best go go power Captain
At this point Quinn Hughes went fully into “skate around the entire ice until I can shoot the puck or set up a teammate” mode, which started with him trying to get the puck to the red hot Kiefer Sherwood:
And then continued when Elias Pettersson set up Quinn Hughes for a shot:
And continued some more when Quinn Hughes would once again dance along the blue line until he could find a lane to the net:
Keep in mind, the Jets were playing extremely effective shutdown hockey in the third period. They were already up a couple of goals, and their life is hard enough having to live in Winnipeg as it is, so they wanted no part of any spirited comeback. Which is what makes Quinn Hughes’ plays all the more impressive, as he was literally dancing on the ice with next to no room out there, generating scoring chances.
Now, they weren’t insane scoring chances, but he was truly making the most out of what he had on hand.
At one point, I thought Tyler Myers was being inspired by the one-man show from Hughes, as I was convinced he was going to go full Chaos Giraffe on this Conor Garland rush to give us an early contender for goal of the year:
Tell me you weren’t thinking for the briefest of seconds that Myers was going to pull that second dangle off before heading to the net and finishing off that Corolla rush.
Best working the grind
Once again, Quinn Hughes managed to almost generate a goal, this time with the goalie pulled and under three minutes left on the clock:
The fact that Quinn gets the puck at the blueline, is immediately covered, has no outs to pass the puck, and instead pauses briefly before spinning along the blue line before finding an open man to get a shot on net should be criminalized. I’m sorry, but kids should not be watching this sort of filth on TV. It’s very upsetting.
Best ol’ reliable
I know two things in life:
  • One, oat milk is the superior choice for coffee
  • Two, Brock Boeser is on the current Mt. Rushmore of “guys who will probably score with the goalie pulled.”
He just has that “it” factor cleverly hidden in that wonderful head of hair he has. I don’t pretend to know the science behind it, but I just know it starts with the hair:
Yes, that is Quinn Hughes getting his third assist of the night, this time after setting up Elias Pettersson in the slot. And yes, that is Elias Pettersson shooting the puck and registering his second shot attempt on the night, leading to Boeser cashing in the rebound.
Like I said, effort was not in question for this game. They fought until the end. The problem is asking for two empty net goals only works against the Dallas Stars.
Best this is the end, my friend
Now, I don’t love the Jets’ final goal. Elias Pettersson steps up to make a play on Niederreiter, but much like EP25, he loses the game of position. I know EP40 is trying to be aggressive, pinch up to steal the puck, and sort of generate a mini counter-rush as most of the Jets are pushing to leave the zone. If Pettersson gets the puck there, now he has some time and space, now he has some options.
But with the goalie pulled, that’s a bit of a risky gamble, so it feels like a better play is to stick your guy to the boards and wait for help.
That being said, it still took Quinn Hughes whiffing on a bouncing puck to get it over to Iafallo to end this game, so there is a bit of hindsight is easy at play here. Maybe in another world, EP40 snags that puck and Boeser scores again, the season turns around, Demko heals himself via a new acupuncture method involving bees, and the Canucks win the Cup.
But in this world, Elias got outmaneuvered on a board battle, and the Jets secured the victory.
Onto the next.
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