Thursday September 3 - Vancouver Canucks 4 - Vegas Golden Knights 0
Best of seven series tied 3-3
Game 7 goes Friday September 4 at 6 p.m. PT on CBC, Sportsnet and NBCSN
More, please!
Before last week, the Vancouver Canucks had never beaten the Vegas Golden Knights in regulation. In the last three days, they've held the offensive powerhouse to just one goal in two games. They'll have a chance to eliminate the top seed in the Western Conference if they can win again in Game 7 on Friday night.
Here are your highlights from another incredible performance by Thatcher Demko in Thursday's Game 6:
As the Canucks stared down elimination in Game 5, it seemed like a positive sign that they didn't fall behind early and have to chase the game. When Shea Theodore opened the scoring late in the second period, Vancouver answered back quickly, then took the lead early in the third. For a one-goal game, that was about as straightforward and pain free as a fan could hope for.
On Thursday, fans had it even easier. Jake Virtanen scored what proved to be the game winner just 2:50 into the first period. The Canucks played with the lead from there. J.T Miller and Quinn Hughes added insurance markers early in the third, and Bo Horvat's empty-netter with 4:38 left in the third period smothered any hope of a comeback for the Golden Knights.
Of course, once again none of this would have been possible without Thatcher Demko. He followed up his incredible NHL playoff debut with a 48-save shutout, then proclaimed "I feel great!" in the postgame media availability. A few endorphins pumping, perhaps??
Demko's performances have already carved their place in Canucks and NHL lore.
Thatcher Demko's Game 6:
🚫 goals allowed
48 saves
First @Canucks goalie to record a shutout when facing elimination since Kirk McLean in 1992.
First rookie goalie to win each his first 2 career playoff starts when his team was facing elimination since Jacques Plante in 1953. pic.twitter.com/L6YyDVeeLq
Demko is also the first California-born goalie ever to win a playoff game. And according to Sportsnet, his 48 saves on Thursday were the most in NHL history for a playoff shutout that did not go to overtime, the most in NHL history by a rookie in a playoff shutout.
Yes, Demko is still technically a rookie at 24 years old.
The age cutoff is 26; the games-played cutoff is "no more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons, nor in six or more NHL games in each of any two preceding seasons.
Demko had one game in the 2017-18 season, and nine in 2018-19, so he still held his rookie status into 2019-20, when he played 27 regular-season games.
The Canucks have brought him along carefully, but his progression over the last couple of years has also been slowed by injuries. Remember, he missed the first 23 games in 2018-19 after suffering a concussion during a preseason practice, then was sent to Utica while Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson shouldered the load. Nilsson was traded in January of 2019 to make room for Demko to be called up, but Demko missed another nine games in February due to a knee injury.
This past season, he was out of the lineup for six games in December, due to another concussion. I had forgotten that Mikey DiPietro was serving as backup when the Canucks kicked into gear with the holiday winning streak that start with the overtime win against Vegas on December 19.
And speaking of DiPietro, we learned on Thursday that the Canucks' fourth-string goalie has now been deemed "unfit to play" after staying in Vancouver to work with skills coach Glenn Carnegie rather than joining his team in the Edmonton bubble. Like his teammates, DiPietro has been subjected to Phase 4 daily Covid-testing protocols, but if he'd gone to Edmonton, he still would have needed to follow the same quarantine procedure that Jordie Benn went through when he returned following the birth of his daughter.
Of course, we don't know if DiPietro's unavailability is due to an injury or a positive Covid-19 test. We do know that Jake Kielly, who spent most of last season with the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings, was recalled on an emergency basis by Vancouver on Thursday. Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports that Kielly is reporting directly to Edmonton, where he'll go into quarantine.
When we were told Mike DiPietro would be No. 4 and be available for a recall from Vancouver, we were also told he’d have do 4 days of isolation + 3 days of limited contacts in Edmonton and test negative every day to enter bubble. Same policy will apply to Jake Kielly.
It's great that the team is making contingency plans for next week, ensuring they'll be as prepared as possible if they do win Game 7 on Friday and advance. But I am concerned about what has happened to DiPietro — and this certainly ramps up concern about Markstrom, who has watched the last two games from the Canucks' team suite at Rogers Place while Louis Domingue has served as Demko's backup.
If Markstrom's injury is a groin issue, as has been reported, it's not surprising that he's out. Those don't usually go away in a day or two.
As for Domingue — not sure if you've been following, but I suspect he's had to put his baking hobby on hold since being thrust into the backup role this week.
You can read more about how Domingue developed his passion for baking and how he has found the opportunity to do it in both Canucks hotels in this article from the NHLPA website.
I bring this all up because I suspect we're going to see Demko start and Domingue back up again on Friday. And with two somewhat unexpected Game 7s in the Western Conference, we've got a truly wacky schedule. At 1 p.m. PT, Colorado will try to complete its comeback against Dallas — with third-stringer Michael Hutchinson between the pipes. Then it's Vancouver/Vegas at 6 p.m. PT — not even 24 hours after the beginning of Thursday's game.
Oh — and if they win, they'll play Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on one day's rest, on Sunday. The NHL is doing everything it can to keep moving things along and limit what I'm sure is an enormous daily cost of staging this tournament.
They got their wish for a Saturday game this weekend. The Flyers and Islanders are also going to Game 7 to determine which team will play the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Game 1 of the WCF goes Sunday at 8 pm ET. Game 1 of the ECF goes Monday night. The condensed bubble sked. Again, both conference finals in Edmonton.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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