This has not been the season Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko of San Diego, CA, might have hoped for. After a sensational Stanley Cup Playoff in the Edmonton bubble where he had a goals against average of 0.64, a save percentage of .985, and an impressive postseason shutout against the Vegas Golden Knights, there was hope by Canucks fans that Demko would be able to continue his strong goaltending in 2020-21.
However, after the first 15 games, Demko has been below average. He has a record of only five wins, nine regulation losses, and one loss in extra time, a goals against average of 3.06, and a save percentage of .907.
On Monday, Demko looked like the goalie who made 48 saves on 48 shots in a 4-0 Canucks win over the Vegas Golden Knights on September 3. He made 27 saves for his first National Hockey League regular season shutout in a 4-0 Canucks win over the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Demko made seven saves in the first period, five saves in the second period, and 15 saves in the third period. Kyle Connor of Clinton Township, MI, led the Jets with seven shots on goal.
Offensively, the Canucks had multi-point games from Nate Schmidt of St, Cloud, MN, Elias Pettersson of Sundsvall, Sweden, and Adam Gaudette of Braintree, MA. Schmidt and Pettersson each had one goal and one assist for two points, while Gaudette had two assists. The other Canucks goal scorers were J.T. Miller of East Palestine, OH, and rookie left winger Nils Hoglander of Bocktrask, Sweden.
With the win, the Canucks improve to a record of nine wins, 14 regulation losses, and two losses in extra time for 20 points. They are three points back of the ice-cold Montreal Canadiens for a playoff spot in the North Division. The Canadiens, who have 23 points, recently fired head coach Claude Julien, and replaced him with assistant coach Dominique Ducharme.
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