The Dallas Stars are in first place in the Central Division with the best goal differential in the Western Conference. They have a Vezina candidate in net in Jake Oettinger, who has a sparkling .923 save percentage this season, tied for third among starting goaltenders.
The Vancouver Canucks are 27th in the NHL with the seventh-worst goal differential in the entire league and were icing a defence half-comprised of AHL defencemen and two of the three NHL defencemen were Tyler Myers and Kyle Burroughs.
One would think that this type of matchup would lead to a lopsided win for the Stars but the Canucks had an ace up their collective sleeve: the return of Thatcher Demko.
Just like old times, Demko came in and stole a game that the Canucks had no business winning. It was a tough result for a Canucks team that needs all the losses it can get to improve its draft lottery odds and ensure a top pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft but it was also nice to see that Demko has still got it.
The funny thing is, the Canucks gave up so many Grade-A chances that, even though it was clear that he stole the game, Demko still finished with an .895 save percentage.
According to hockey analytics site Natural Stat Trick, the Stars had a whopping 25 high-danger chances in all situations — the second-most the Canucks have given up all season. The Canucks had a grand total of 21 shots on goal.
Let’s reiterate: the Stars had more high-danger chances than the Canucks had shots.
This game didn’t exactly ease Demko back into game action after he missed nearly three full months with an injury but there seemed to be no ill effects after his setback in practice earlier in the month. Demko was able to stretch post-to-post with ease, making stellar save after stellar save.
Even as he gave up four goals, sending the game to overtime, it couldn’t have been any more clear that Demko was back to his old self.
There’s no denying that the Canucks would have a better record this season with a healthy Thatcher Demko playing up to the same standard as last season. That’s kind of the problem. Even with a top-tier goaltender playing at the zenith of his game, the Canucks as a team were still mediocre overall.
Demko patched over so many holes that some convinced themselves that this Canucks team was a lot closer to contention than they actually are. This season, with Demko struggling early and then his replacements struggling even more once he got injured, those holes became impossible to ignore.
Ultimately, that’s a good thing. You can’t ignore that your boat is sinking just because you’ve got one guy who’s incredible with a bucket.
Like a guy without a transition from his sinking boat metaphor, I watched this game.
- Essentially on his own on the Canucks blue line, Quinn Hughes was dominant. In 26:46 of ice time, Hughes had three assists and a team-high six shots on goal, was the only Canuck with a corsi above 50% at 5-on-5, and was on the ice for four of the Canucks five goals and just one against. He did a little bit of everything in all situations, all while primarily facing the Stars’ top forward line. I’d call him a jack-of-all-trades but since he has a brother named Jack, I’ll call him a factotum instead.
- You could tell the Canucks had a ramshackle defence with how many breakaways they gave up. It felt like every few minutes a Stars forward would get in behind the defence and move in alone on Demko, who must have been wondering why his teammates hate him so much.
- In the first period, however, it was the Canucks who got the drop on the Stars, who seemed to have taken the Canucks far too lightly to start the game. The Canucks quickly got the advantage in shots, then a fortunate bounce on a harmless-looking deflected pass by Elias Pettersson turned into the opening goal. Oettinger couldn’t cleanly deflect the puck into the corner and it instead went up into the air, with Anthony Beauvillier perfectly timing the aerial puck, blasting it with a one-timer just as it hit the ice. I’m guessing Beauvillier might have a couple of golf trick shots in his back pocket with timing like that.
- A chance to extend the lead on the power play backfired when Pettersson and Hughes, evidently missing the injured J.T. Miller on the power play, paid homage with a turnover at the blue line. Jamie Benn made no mistake on the shorthanded breakaway, tucking the puck between the legs of the rapidly retreating Demko, who backed up right into the net.
- The second power play unit made up for the gaffe with a goal just 23 seconds later. Connor Garland’s slap shot from the right side was neatly tipped in by Sheldon Dries, who was playing in his 100th career NHL game and his career-high 41st game of the season.
- Aatu Räty played just 4:22 in this game, which makes you wonder why they even bothered calling him up from the Abbotsford Canucks, but he had an impact in those limited minutes. Late in the first, he took a crisp stretch pass from Hughes, pulled up inside the blue line, and found Vasily Podkolzin cross-ice. Podkolzin made a superb move around Ty Dellandrea, sending the centre toppling to the ice, and snapped the puck glove side past Oettinger as Dries crashed the net, giving Räty his first NHL assist. Like a Corona, Podkolzin’s goal was sublime.
- Demko’s best save came was a literal last-second save in the first period, as he stretched across to rob Benn with his left toe. It would have been the type of demoralizing goal that Canucks goaltenders have given up a lot this season and was a nice reminder of just how much of a difference-maker Demko can be. Of course, it would have been far better if the Canucks hadn’t given up a last-second Grade-A chance off a defensive zone faceoff with five seconds remaining.
- The Stars out-shot the Canucks 20-to-3 in the second period, which is more lopsided than an Amazonian archer. They scored two goals on Demko but it could have been far more with how they were peppering him with shots.
- Evgenii Dadonov made it 3-2 with a breakaway goal that likely explains why Räty got so little ice time for the rest of the game. Räty lost the middle of the ice as Dadonov came busting through the neutral zone and skated in behind him. Sure, Tyler Myers could have played it better too, but Räty came out looking the worst, as he seemed completely unaware of the developing danger, like Homer Simpson around sulphuric acid. Dadonov took the pass and made a slick deke to the forehand to beat Demko.
- The Canucks regained their two-goal lead with one of their three shots in the second period. It appeared to be a set play of the faceoff: Pettersson won the draw and Hughes jumped up the left side to take a pass from Andrei Kuzmenko. As Hughes spun off his check into the middle of the ice, Beauvillier faded to the back post, one-timing the Hughes pass into the top shelf where grandma hides her medical marijuana.
- Guillaume Brisebois was victimized on the Stars’ next goal on the power play. Brisebois’s gap control on Roope Hintz was, frankly, uncontrolled, as Brisebois stubbornly stayed in the middle of the ice instead of recognizing the danger and closing on Hintz. That left him wide open to catch Demko off-guard with a quick release.
- The Stars tied the game early in the third period. Mason Marchment absorbed a hit from Podkolzin, who didn’t follow the golden rule of hits: stick on puck first, then body on body. Marchment found Nils Lundqvist and his shot deflected off the stick of Brock Boeser as he attempted to block the shot, sending the puck cannonading into the top corner.
- Boeser might have missed the block but one star forward was throwing his body in front of seemingly every puck. Pettersson had a game-high six blocked shots and is now third among NHL forwards in total blocked shots this season, which seems wild. A lot of blocked shots can be a bad thing — it means the other team is getting a lot of shot attempts when you’re on the ice — but Pettersson still has a positive corsi percentage, meaning the Canucks out-attempt their opposition when he’s on the ice at 5-on-5. It’s just a further sign of how complete a player Pettersson is becoming.
- Demko got the game to overtime and, from there, Andrei “Anti-Tank Missile” Kuzmenko took over. Hughes sent Beauvillier in on the right side and Kuzmenko waited until Benn had his back turned to him to bolt towards the net, catching the Stars’ captain by surprise. Beauvillier centred and Kuzmenko made a precision strike with a perfect deflection past Oettinger to secure the two points in the standings.
- For kicks and giggles, the NHL reviewed the goal, checking to see if Beauvillier was offside on the zone entry. While Beauvillier did back into the zone, with his skates crossing the blue line before the puck, it was eventually ruled that he had control of the puck, even though it was not on the blade of his stick, so he was onside.
- As much as Team Tank might not wish it to be so, the officials got that one right. I guess. Because the NHL rulebook never actually defines “control” or “possession” of the puck, so it’s a defining-pornography situation: “I know it when I see it.”
- That's a three-point night for Beauvillier, who now has 11 points in 11 games since he was traded to the Canucks. That means it's time to — say it with me — flip Beauvillier for another first-round pick. Quickly, before Canucks fans fall in love with his boyish charm!
- Oh no, too late.
- I was legitimately flabbergasted by Sportsnet's intermission panel when Cassie Campbell-Pascal gave her opinion on what the Canucks needed. According to her, they need to surround Pettersson and Hughes with veteran leaders who "know how to win." No. Stop it. The Canucks need more young stars and the last thing they need is more guys like Jay Beagle. Come on.
