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I Watched This Game: Alex Edler’s overtime goal gives Thatcher Demko the win in NHL debut

Canucks 5, Blue Jackets 4 (OT)
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Like Dante Hicks (NSFW), Thatcher Demko was not even supposed to be here today.

Anders Nilsson was supposed to start this game. It was a scheduled start for Nilsson, because as an early afternoon game just two days removed from when they last played, this was the closest thing to back-to-back games on the Canucks’ schedule. But then a flu bug ripped through the Canucks locker room and apparently hit Nilsson a little harder than most.

So Thatcher Demko got the call and this seemingly meaningless late season game became his debutante ball, signifying his entrance into fashionable society. Also, the NHL.

Canucks fans have been eagerly anticipating the ascension of Demko to the NHL, hoping he’ll be the next great Canucks goaltender. It’s coming up on four years since he was drafted and he’s spent that time, like John Reuben, marinating, serenading, and percolating.

Demko already had one year in the NCAA under his belt when he was drafted and spent two more as one of the best goaltenders in college hockey. Over the last two seasons, he’s made the transition to professional hockey with the Utica Comets. This past season, he’s been one of the biggest reasons they made it back to the AHL playoffs and has established himself as one of the best goaltending prospects in the AHL.

In the recent Future Watch edition of their magazine, the Hockey News ranked Demko third among prospect goaltenders behind Ilya Samsonov and Carter Hart. Craig Button and Corey Pronman both have Demko fifth on their lists.

But Canucks fans don’t just want Demko to be one of the best goaltending prospects outside the NHL; after a season of sub-par goaltending, a lot of people are ready for Demko to step in next season as the backup and play his way into the starting job. And this game, even if it was unexpected, is an important first step towards that, giving him an ever-so-brief taste of NHL action to whet his appetite as he trains over the summer.

I caught a glimpse of the future when I watched this game.

  • Demko still has a perfect 1.000 save percentage at even-strength and is the only goaltender in the NHL this season who has played more than 20 minutes without giving up a goal at even-strength. I mean, may as well engrave his name on next year’s Vezina right now, am I right?
  • Okay, so Demko got beat four times on 30 shots for a rather pedestrian .867 save percentage, but all four goals came while the Blue Jackets had the man advantage: two on the power play and two with the goaltender pulled for 6-on-5 action.
  • Demko got some help from his posts in the first period, as the Blue Jackets were hitting more bars than a bachelor party on Granville Street. Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner combined to hit the crossbar three times, then Pierre-Luc Dubois, driving to the net, had a puck go off his skate and hit the post. After the game, Demko joked, “I think the posts are bigger up here than they are in the AHL.”
  • It’s interesting watching Demko in action. Because of his 6’4” stature and his fairly upright stance, his five-hole looks huge. His dark pads likely help in that regard. It has to look like an incredibly inviting target for shooters, but he closes it with incredible speed as he drops down into his butterfly, and, once he’s in his butterfly, he looks huge.
  • Demko might need to work on his lateral movement, though. At one point a Blue Jacket came around the side of the net and sent a pass across to the backdoor. Demko took too long to identify the play and couldn’t get a good push across. Thankfully, Alex Biega bailed him out, getting his stick on Matt Calvert’s shot.
  • Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo looked downright unbeatable through the first half of the game, stopping chance after chance like a hyper-critical Gregorian choir director. Dangerous scoring chances from Reid Boucher, Jake Virtanen, Adam Gaudette, and Daniel Sedin all got turned aside. So, of course, a harmless looking shot from Darren Archibald handcuffed Korpisalo and bounced in.
  • Like Pete Townshend’s love, Archibald’s goal opened the door, and the Canucks took the lead less than two minutes later. When Ryan Murray got caught up ice, Nikolay Goldobin took advantage of the forward, Oliver Bjorkstrand, covering for him, patiently hanging on the puck while Bjorkstrand accommodatingly backed up, giving him space like a considerate boyfriend. Goldobin worked a quick give-and-go (though with minimal “go” so more of a give-and-give) with Jussi Jokinen, then found Korpisalo’s five-hole with a one-timer.
  • I’ll take a third line next season focused around the duo of Adam Gaudette and Jake Virtanen, please. I’m not even particularly fussed about who you throw on the left wing with them. Maybe Markus Granlund, Loui Eriksson, or Sven Baertschi. The two of them go north-south like migrating birds and I want more of that on a third line and less “shutting down” that is really just ceding the defensive zone to the opponent.
  • I can’t get over Virtanen suddenly turning into Wayne Gretzky to set up Jussi Jokinen’s goal. Bo Horvat got him the puck behind the net and it suddenly became his office, patiently waiting out the Blue Jackets’ defenders. I’ve never seen Virtanen slow down the game like that and I’ve definitely never seen him pass like that, as he sent the puck through David Savard’s legs as the defender slid to the ice like he had been taking secret lessons from the Sedins without telling anyone.
  • Jokinen had a three-point game. I have no idea how to feel about that.
  • The Jokester set up Bo Horvat’s goal with a gorgeous little saucer pass, but I have no idea what the Blue Jackets were doing with their defensive coverage. Ryan Murray apparently missed the memo that Horvat is good, and also the memo that the guy coming with speed through the neutral zone is the dangerous one, and also the memo about shifting over to another check when your defence partner comes across to take the puck-carrier. Murray needs to check his work email more often.
  • I really like the way Horvat has started finishing in unexpected ways on short little breakaways. Instead of just driving to the net and trying one move, he’s always paying attention to the goaltender and reacting. It’s a great sign for the future, as it’ll be a lot harder for goaltenders to get a “book” on him. Though if no one can get a book on him, it might be a sign of bad posture.
  • I’m not sure if Ashton Sautner is a legitimate NHL defender or not, but he’s surprised me in his first few games. He’s got the profile of a respectable bottom-pairing defender: takes care of his man in front of the net and plays with some grit, but also ensures the puck gets out of the zone. Through the first two periods, the Blue Jackets had just one shot on goal with Sautner on the ice, but they added four more as they pushed for the comeback in the third period. Still, a solid performance from a player that I’ll admit I had written off.
  • Heck, Sautner even got his first NHL point, assisting on Archibald’s goal. Neat!
  • The Blue Jackets came back in this game and nearly stole Demko’s first career win away from him, but Alex Edler and Brandon Sutter saved the day. Both players were on the ice for every goal against, but they came through in overtime, as Sutter recovered from losing the puck to win a puck battle and throw the puck down low to Edler. He had more time and space than Inspector Spacetime and he waited to make a move like he was powering up before a fight on Dragonball Z.
  • When Edler finally made his move, it was clinical. He stared down Korpisalo as he coasted in, then stopped up, looked pass, made one quick stickhandle, then fired it inside the far post. As soon as Edler stopped and looked towards Sam Gagner in the middle, Korpisalo’s right pad pivoted back and towards the middle; as soon as that happened, it was over. That little movement opened up the whole left side of the net for Edler. It was so coldly logical on Edler’s part, I half-suspect he’s half-Vulcan.