3 reasons the Vancouver Canucks should be Stanley Cup favorites
By Sion Fawkes
2. Impeccable goaltending
You can count Thatcher Demko in as a true candidate for the Vezina Trophy, and his sensational run has yet to cool off this season. Demko has appeared in three games this week, and while one of those three outings wasn’t great, he was impeccable in the two most recent, making 71 saves on 77 shots for a 0.922 save percentage.
However, his one pedestrian outing that still resulted in a win came against another high-scoring team, the New Jersey Devils, who rank ninth in the league with 138 goals as of Friday. All season, Demko has either shut down opponents or if he’s not enjoying the greatest outing, he’s doing just enough to ensure the Canucks earn the W.
But Demko isn’t the only goaltender on the roster who’s been cruising through a good season as his backup, Casey DeSmith, has also stepped in and posted respectable numbers. Through 13 games and 12 starts, DeSmith possesses a 7-3-2 record, with a 2.53 GAA, and a 0.913 save percentage, showing us that he’s more than capable of holding down the backup job for the year.
Barring injuries to Demko or DeSmith, look for the Canucks goaltending duo to remain among the better ones in the league, and that will take them a long way for the rest of the season.