Vancouver Canucks show resiliency during the latter part of the season

Notably, Vancouver’s win over the Maple Leafs was their first victory in Toronto since December 17, 2011.

Thatcher Demko remembers his disappointing encounter with goalie idol, Patrick Roy
By Brandon Yip, Senior Columnist

The Vancouver Canucks is making the job of the new general manager, Patrik Allvin, a lot more challenging. The reason is the Canucks are playing better. There is no doubt that changes to the roster are inevitable. But at this point, Vancouver is showing to be a very resilient team. They are not a Stanley Cup contender, but they are playing like a team who are giving their fans hope that one day the team will emerge as one.

The Canucks started their long seven-game homestand at Rogers Arena with a 5-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on March 9. The game was highlighted by JT Miller having a four-point game (one goal and three assists). Despite constant trade rumours regarding Miller, he has been a consistent and prominent player—leading the team in scoring with 67 points in 56 games played (23 goals and 44 assists). At the time of writing, the Canucks’ record is 29-23-6. They are fifth in the Pacific Division with 64 points; three points out of a Wild Card playoff spot. If Vancouver were a locomotive train, they have been replenishing the coal frequently—as the team continues to be hot. The Canucks are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

Vancouver ended a four-game eastern road trip on a positive note, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of six to four on March 5. Vancouver was trailing Toronto 4-3 in the third period before Tanner Pearson scored at 1:03 to tie the game. Then Alex Chiasson scored at 6:55 to put Vancouver ahead 5-4; with Tyler Motte later scoring an empty netter at 19:40 to seal the victory. Canucks coach, Bruce Boudreau, in his post-game media conference, was pleased with his team’s resiliency. “That’s the best offensive team we’ve played that we’ve come from behind on,” he said as reported by Sportsnet. “And you had it in their building. You have to tip your hat off to the guys for their resiliency. You know what? The best thing I liked was the bench and how happy they were and everybody jumping up. I mean, they were committed tonight, and that’s a great feeling when they do that.”

Canucks captain, Bo Horvat, who was born in London, Ontario, had never won in his home province as a member of the Vancouver Canucks—despite entering the NHL with the club in 2014. He is relieved to finally get a victory in Toronto. “It has been a long time coming,” he said as reported by Sportsnet. “(The Leafs) usually have my number since I’ve been here. I got some friends and family in the crowd tonight and to get a big win in front of them definitely feels great. We beat a lot of good hockey teams on this road trip. Obviously, it’s a successful road trip for us, and we’re heading back playing seven in a row. It should give us confidence, knowing we can beat some of the best teams in the league. But we can’t get too high on ourselves. We’ve just got to keep it going.”

Notably, Vancouver’s win over the Maple Leafs was their first victory in Toronto since December 17, 2011—according to Sportsnet. The Canucks had lost 12 straight road games to the Maple Leafs. In addition, Sportsnet also reported that it has been three months since Bruce Boudreau replaced Travis Green as head coach. Vancouver’s record with Boudreau behind the bench is 21-8-4. Before Boudreau’s arrival, the Canucks were seven games under .500. Now, Vancouver is six games over .500.

Lastly, Canucks goalie, Thatcher Demko, made an appearance on the Spittin Chiclets podcast on March 2. Demko shared a story when he met his goalie hero, Patrick Roy, at the NHL Combine in 2014. Roy was the head coach for the Colorado Avalanche (2013 till 2016). Unfortunately, Demko said his encounter with the Hall of Fame goalie, who won four Stanley Cups (two each with Montreal and Colorado), was not as great as he had anticipated. Demko said that when he played for Boston College, he liked to dance in his crease to stay relaxed during games—earning the nickname “Dancing Demko.”

Demko recalls a one-on-one meeting with Roy, who was very blunt regarding his “dancing” behaviour and gave him feedback that would have made Simon Cowell envious. “He laid into me for this ‘Dancing Demko’ thing,” Demko said. “I grew up idolizing this guy. I can’t wait to see what this guy is like. And the first thing that comes out of his mouth was: ‘What the [f–k] is wrong with you?’ I was like, ah, this is not going how I hoped it would go. I’m just a young, scared kid.” According to Demko, Roy was not finished with his assessment: “I see you out there, dancing around like you don’t give a [s–t]. How are we supposed to draft you? It seems like you’re out there just having a good time. We need a guy that’s willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

The Colorado Avalanche elected not to draft Demko, who was later taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the second round (36^th overall pick) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Demko has been outstanding this season, with 26 wins and 16 losses with 2 OTLs in 46 games played. His goals-against-average is 2.64 and his save percentage is .917. Demko was also selected to play in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas last month. Demko has flourished with the Canucks in becoming one of the top goalies in the NHL. He has earned the right to have a “good time” and dance as much as he wants.

Canucks’ schedule this week (all games at Rogers Arena)
Tuesday, March 15 vs. New Jersey Devils (7 pm)
Thursday, March 17 vs. Detroit Red Wings (7 pm)
Saturday, March 19 vs. Calgary Flames (7 pm)
Sunday, March 20 vs. Buffalo Sabres (7 pm)