The Vancouver Canucks have played a close 7-game series against the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If Vancouver can manage a win on Monday night, they will advance to their first Western Conference Final since 2011. They will battle the Oilers without their starting goaltender.
According to The Athletic's Thomas Drance, the Canucks will officially be without goaltender Thatcher Demko in Game 7 vs. the Oilers.
“No, Thatcher Demko is not going to play Game 7.” head coach Rick Tocchet said.
Demko was injured during Game 1 against the Nashville Predators and hasn't played since. The team has not disclosed the nature of Demko's injury. He was classified as week-to-week on April 23rd and has been a limited participant at the team's recent practices.
The Canucks replaced Demko with backup goalie Casey DeSmith for two games in the first round against Nashville. Vancouver won one of those two games. After two games of DeSmith, the Canucks decided to call up AHL goalie Arturs Silovs to fill in for Demko.
Silovs has performed admirably in relief of Demko. However, he struggled during Game 6 and allowed five goals on 27 shots on net. Silovs will remain at goaltender for a pivotal Game 7 matchup that will decide the series.
Demko started 51 games for the Canucks during the regular season. He logged a .918 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average. The Canucks were 35-14 in games where Demko started in 2023. They also have five shutouts in those contests.
Stanley Cup Playoffs: Previewing Game 7 of Canucks vs. Oilers
The Canucks and Oilers have been back and forth in an exciting best-of-seven series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Oilers showed up in Game 6, winning 5-1 with strong performances from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
“It was a really good game on our part, but all it did is buy us one more game and an opportunity to play on Monday,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “You just have to approach it as a brand new game and take it one game at a time. We showed up today, worried about one, and that kind of has to be the same approach in Game 7.”
“You’re disappointed a little bit, but you know that we are a good bounce-back team,” Tocchet said following Game 6. “Our job is we’ve got to flush this game. Some guys know they’ve got to play better, and you’ve got 48 hours to get your energy back. It’s a Game 7. People would kill to be in this situation right now, and we’ve got to make sure that we act like we want to be in that situation.
The pressure will be on Vancouver to rescue the series.
Vancouver is 6-6 in Game 7's with a 4-3 record at home. They will play in front of their home crowd on Monday night with the season on the line. Goaltender Artur Silovs has never played in a Game 7, nor has Rick Tocchet ever coached one.
The winner of Game 7 will advance to the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. Dallas will have home-ice advantage against either Vancouver or Edmonton.
Game 7 between the Canucks and Oilers takes place tomorrow at 9PM ET / 6PM PT.
