Thatcher Demko! doesn't need a stick, he doesn't need his glove and doesn't even need good defense to make the best saves I've ever seen!! you're a wall out there bubby and Vancouver loves you.
The real "kicker" here is, Sportsnet didn't even show the whole damn sequence. It was chaotic, frenzied and pressure-filled, yet Demko remained stickless, steady and calm. Amazing!
Thatcher Demko has evolved, he no longer requires a goalie stick
Unbelievable penalty kill emblematic of Canucks’ crazy push for the playoffs ———————
After Thatcher Demko made his biggest save this season, his mom, Danielle, was caught on camera inside the rink in Dallas exclaiming what everyone else was thinking: “Oh, my god.”
With just over eight minutes remaining and the Vancouver Canucks clinging to a 2-1 lead against the Stars in a game the Canadian visitors had to have to keep their playoff fantasy going, Demko looked beaten on a rebound but reached back with his right pad and elevated it, like a scorpion’s tail, just enough to rob Dallas defenceman Esa Lindell of a tying goal during a frantic power play.
Twelve seconds later, with Demko now lunging around without a stick, Jason Robertson missed the net point-blank. Another dozen ticks later, Lindell had an open net and the puck again and somehow pushed his shot against the post while bothered from behind by Canuck Elias Pettersson.
Then there were two more stickless saves by Demko on Robertson.
Demko later described the sequence as “chaos.”
Sportsnet play-by-play announcer John Shorthouse had another description, in real-time: “This is crazy.”
It was. There is no way the short-handed Canucks should have survived those 40 seconds of chaos. But they did.
And when Bo Horvat scored into an empty-net a little while later, followed by J.T. Miller’s last-minute goal, the Canucks had beaten the Stars 4-1 to inch within two points of Dallas and three points of the final playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.
Including a road win Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche and an overtime loss Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks have taken five out of six points against powerful teams whose home-ice records are an aggregate 69-20-5.
And they’ve done this right after a discouraging 2-3-2 homestand in which the Canucks lost five of the final six games and looked spent after their months-long mission of desperation to somehow save their season following a 6-14-2 start.
This is crazy.
The Canucks are 24-11-7 since Bruce Boudreau became coach on Dec. 5. The whole thing is crazy.
They have survived against odds, which are still overwhelmingly against them making the playoffs, for nearly four months. So those 40 seconds on Saturday night in Dallas? Well, maybe they just figure. These are the Canucks.
“Chaos, I don’t know,” Demko said, five of his 36 saves coming during that late penalty kill. “We got a good bounce off the post there (from Lindell). A little bit of luck. Everyone’s just battling, just trying to keep the puck out of the net.”
A little later, Demko, whose mental strength mirrors what the Canucks have shown, said: “The outcome’s not really in your control. You can just focus on each individual moment, each shot and each chance against, and kind of take it from there.”
The Canucks have had an endless string of these big moments. On Saturday, these included Pettersson, who tied the game 1-1 at 15:25 of the second period, recognizing it was a forward he was skating one-on-one against when he backed up Joe Pavelski and then shot through the Star’s legs with a laser that beat Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger at 1:15 of the final period.
Demko with the right pad did you see that?!??! HE HIT THE POST, HE HIT THE POST CAN YOU BELIEVE IT THIS IS CRAZY!!!! Another shot demko kicked it out!!
24 Comments
First
Possibly saved Vancouvers season
Demko’s the real deal
Great call by Shorty.
Demko will go down as the greatest American goalie when he retires
I suggest demko ask for a fat contract
Flames fan here. I have to say you guys have something special in Demko. He is unreal. Hope to see more of him and the Canucks in the playoffs.
Then Lindell missed an empty net. No clue why the Stars put a defensive dman on their top PP unit lmao
Thatcher Demko! doesn't need a stick, he doesn't need his glove and doesn't even need good defense to make the best saves I've ever seen!! you're a wall out there bubby and Vancouver loves you.
Thats a #hatpick
Nothing but pad!
Goooood lord. D man.
Who needs Markstrom???
I almost lost my voice watching this sequence
Demko is so good
Those jerseys though 👀
That’s going to be on Hat-Picks
That's a Hat Picks
Demko will win the Vezina within the next few years, JMHO.
Demko is very underrated. Hope the Canucks make the playoff !
The real "kicker" here is, Sportsnet didn't even show the whole damn sequence. It was chaotic, frenzied and pressure-filled, yet Demko remained stickless, steady and calm. Amazing!
Thatcher Demko has evolved, he no longer requires a goalie stick
Unbelievable penalty kill emblematic of Canucks’ crazy push for the playoffs ———————
After Thatcher Demko made his biggest save this season, his mom, Danielle, was caught on camera inside the rink in Dallas exclaiming what everyone else was thinking: “Oh, my god.”
With just over eight minutes remaining and the Vancouver Canucks clinging to a 2-1 lead against the Stars in a game the Canadian visitors had to have to keep their playoff fantasy going, Demko looked beaten on a rebound but reached back with his right pad and elevated it, like a scorpion’s tail, just enough to rob Dallas defenceman Esa Lindell of a tying goal during a frantic power play.
Twelve seconds later, with Demko now lunging around without a stick, Jason Robertson missed the net point-blank. Another dozen ticks later, Lindell had an open net and the puck again and somehow pushed his shot against the post while bothered from behind by Canuck Elias Pettersson.
Then there were two more stickless saves by Demko on Robertson.
Demko later described the sequence as “chaos.”
Sportsnet play-by-play announcer John Shorthouse had another description, in real-time: “This is crazy.”
It was. There is no way the short-handed Canucks should have survived those 40 seconds of chaos. But they did.
And when Bo Horvat scored into an empty-net a little while later, followed by J.T. Miller’s last-minute goal, the Canucks had beaten the Stars 4-1 to inch within two points of Dallas and three points of the final playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.
Including a road win Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche and an overtime loss Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks have taken five out of six points against powerful teams whose home-ice records are an aggregate 69-20-5.
And they’ve done this right after a discouraging 2-3-2 homestand in which the Canucks lost five of the final six games and looked spent after their months-long mission of desperation to somehow save their season following a 6-14-2 start.
This is crazy.
The Canucks are 24-11-7 since Bruce Boudreau became coach on Dec. 5. The whole thing is crazy.
They have survived against odds, which are still overwhelmingly against them making the playoffs, for nearly four months. So those 40 seconds on Saturday night in Dallas? Well, maybe they just figure. These are the Canucks.
“Chaos, I don’t know,” Demko said, five of his 36 saves coming during that late penalty kill. “We got a good bounce off the post there (from Lindell). A little bit of luck. Everyone’s just battling, just trying to keep the puck out of the net.”
A little later, Demko, whose mental strength mirrors what the Canucks have shown, said: “The outcome’s not really in your control. You can just focus on each individual moment, each shot and each chance against, and kind of take it from there.”
The Canucks have had an endless string of these big moments. On Saturday, these included Pettersson, who tied the game 1-1 at 15:25 of the second period, recognizing it was a forward he was skating one-on-one against when he backed up Joe Pavelski and then shot through the Star’s legs with a laser that beat Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger at 1:15 of the final period.
20/10 SAVE OF THE YEAR
Demko with the right pad did you see that?!??! HE HIT THE POST, HE HIT THE POST CAN YOU BELIEVE IT THIS IS CRAZY!!!! Another shot demko kicked it out!!