Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko out for Game 2 vs. Nashville

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The Canucks need 28 players to make a deep run to the Stanley Cup, Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet figures.

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Tocchet is already going to have to dig deep in his bag because Thatcher Demko is suddenly out of action.

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The Canucks’ star netminder was not available for game 2 against the Nashville Predators Tuesday and his status for the series is up in the air, the coach revealed after his team’s optional morning skate at Rogers Arena.

Demko wasn’t a participant for the morning skate, a day after he’d been absent from a team practice.

Demko is dealing with a knee issue, a source told Postmedia.

“Doesn’t look good,” they said.

TSN’s Farhan Lalji reported that Demko had an MRI scan on an injured knee Monday.

Tocchet said he doesn’t know whether Demko will miss more time than just Tuesday’s. He said that Demko was to be evaluated on Tuesday.

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“It wasn’t the old injury,” Tocchet clarified. Demko missed six weeks near the end of the season after suffering a knee injury March 9 versus Winnipeg.

The Canucks have been strong defensively for much of the season, so how they’ll defend won’t change, Tocchet pointed out.

Casey DeSmith took turns in the starter’s net before Game 2, with third-stringer Arturs Silovs in the other net.

“Every year we’ve had people step up — in and out of the lineup. Casey, he played a big game against Edmonton, what was it, 10 days ago? A huge game to win the division. He’s done it all year for us. So just march forward,” he said.

“You’re going to have people step up and the team step up. That’s the mentality.”

DeSmith has made one previous playoff start, in 2022 for the Pittsburgh Penguins, in a triple-overtime 4-3 win over the New York Rangers. It was quite the start as he made 48 saves on 51 shots before leaving the net midway through the second overtime period with an injury. Former Canucks goalie Louis Domingue stepped in for DeSmith and played until Evgeni Malkin won the game a period later.

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Silovs has been up on an emergency recall since the beginning of the series, although the team hadn’t previously revealed who was in question, DeSmith or Demko.

Demko didn’t practice with teammates Monday, but Tocchet said Demko skated earlier in the day. He said he wasn’t sure if Demko suffered the injury during Sunday’s game, or perhaps in that skate.

Logic, though, suggests Demko was testing out his knee after suffering some sort of problem during Sunday’s game.

Demko wasn’t made available after the game on Sunday night, with the PR team saying he was in treatment.

“It stinks,” JT Miller said about not having Demko.

“But it doesn’t change the way we play.”

Tocchet concurred.

“Whether Demmer’s in net or whoever’s in net, you try to play the right way. So why would we change? Like all of a sudden we’re going to dump the puck more because you know, we have Casey in net? I mean, well. We are going to play the same way.”

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DeSmith was added in a trade on the eve of the regular season as Tocchet and his bosses wanted a seasoned, experienced backup. DeSmith, who they knew well from Pittsburgh, was an upgrade on incumbent No. 2 Spencer Martin.

DeSmith has proven to be the best Canucks backup in a decade.

“I love his demeanor. Very well liked (by his teammates),” Tocchet said. “Any time you get in the playoffs, there’s stories. And you know, he’s looking to be a contributor to this team and we expect the way he’s played all year for us; really solid hockey. We’re not looking for him to be spectacular. We’re looking (for him) to be Casey.”

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Read more of our Canucks playoff coverage:

• Canucks vs. Predators Game Day: Building off incredible buzz, Elias Lindholm’s playoff arrival
• ‘Moments you live for’: Canucks fans’ energy, noise and towels making a big impression on the ice
• Canucks anthem singer Elizabeth Irving says O Canada for Game 1 was a “goosebumpy moment”
• Canucks coach Rick Tocchet needs perplexing power play in prime playoff attack mode
• Dakota Joshua ‘getting better and better’ for the Canucks
• Canucks vs. Predators Game 1: How the goals were scored
• We are all Canucks: Even the Lions guarding the Lions Gate Bridge

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