Demko shines in 4-1 win over Edmonton
Oilers were going through the motions at times, but Canucks goalie brilliant when he had to be
As is well known, the Vancouver Canucks have nothing left to play for.
But no one seems to have told Thatcher Demko.
The Canucks' No. 1 goalie put in a stellar performance on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Place in Edmonton, leading his team to a 4-1 win over the playoff-bound Oilers.
Demko made a series of top-notch saves to give his team a chance for the victory.
After a slow first period that finished 1-1, the Canucks slowly took charge of the game, with the Oilers hardly to be seen in the third period.
“That was nice. The guys stuck with it. A big third,” head coach Travis Green said of the team's overall performance, their third win on their six game road trip. “Come on the road, play a lot of games and go .500? It's a good trip.”
“They had some jump tonight. I was little worried about it. Last game of the trip, a long trip, we've been on the road I think 18 of the last 21 days, so give the guys credit.”
Until that point, though, the Oilers might have surged into the lead if not for Demko.
That the Oilers took their foot off the gas — and it had barely been pressing down as it was — in the third wasn't much of a surprise, they have the Stanley Cup playoffs to think about now.
For their sake, the Canucks peppered Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen with 41 shots, the Canucks' highest shot total since March 24.
Even though he yielded four goals Koskinen still had something of a bounceback game himself as his last start versus Vancouver saw him lifted early in the game after conceding four goals on the Canucks' first four shots of the game. On Saturday, he didn't have much help in the third period.
Matthew Highmore had two goals to pace the Canucks with Bo Horvat and Travis Boyd adding one each, while Adam Larsson had Edmonton's lone tally.
Here's what we learned ...
BIG GAME DEMKO
Demko made a pair of stunning saves to keep the game close, plus big saves on breakaways by the Oilers' best players.
Late in the second, he stonewalled Alex Chiasson on a one-timer, after Connor McDavid floated a perfect saucer pass across the slot to the winger.
Demko lunged to his right and was able to pull the puck off the goal-line with his foot.
Early in the third, he stopped Ryan Nugent-Hopkins point-blank, the Burnaby-born centre firing from dead in the slot, a stop so spectacular it had some observers calling it a possible save of the year.
“It was kind of going to be a desperation play,” Demko said post-game. “I was just trying to elevate my leg to help give myself a chance to get me to (the puck).”
His foot knocked the puck down and then managed to keep it from sliding over the goal-line.
“Yeah, it was close,” he acknowledged. “There were definitely parts of the puck that were over the line. But I had eyes on it the whole time.”
McDavid later had a breakaway but Demko calmly knocked the puck to the corner.
Earlier in the game, the Canucks' goalie also stonewalled Leon Draisaitl on a breakaway.
The one goal to beat Demko was a point shot by Larsson, which Draisaitl and McDavid picked up assists on. That extended their point streaks to eight games each.
Add it all up and the Oilers' dynamic duo are the first teammates to finish first and second in the NHL scoring race since Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito in 1974.
ENERGY LEVEL
It was a beautiful day in Vancouver. One can only imagine how that might have further sapped the energy levels of this game, which once again fell somewhere between a pre-season game and an allstar game.
A great example of how players were putting their collective foot to the floor right off the start came after a first-period faceoff, when the puck flew out of the faceoff dot out to Jack Rathbone, who was unchecked as he fired the puck on net from the top of the slot.
He was unchecked because the Oilers remained at a standstill.
The Canucks, on the other hand, certainly kept their feet moving. Keeping their energy up, no matter their circumstance, has remained a point of pride for the Canucks.
“We all understand the position we're in. And, you know, we still want to show up these last three games and give a really solid effort,” Demko said.
EDLER'S TIME
Once an offensive cog for the Canucks from the blueline, Alex Edler hasn't yet scored this season.
But he found himself on the power play in the first period, a role he's barely filled this season, with Quinn Hughes, Tyler Myers and Nate Schmidt generally getting time at the point on the power play.
LINEUP CHANGES
Before the game, Green indicated that Demko would get one more start after Saturday's win.
He also rotated Jack Rathbone and Jalen Chatfield back into the lineup, giving Olli Juolevi and Nate Schmidt the day off. It sounds likely both would draw back in on Sunday.
And Green previously noted that it was likely he'll get Jonah Gadjovich and Will Lockwood into the lineup once the Utica Comets' season was officially over, which it will be before the Canucks face off against the Calgary Flames tonight.