EDMONTON – After seeing five shots in six months, Thatcher Demko faced five in the opening eight minutes on Tuesday and 43 in his first National Hockey League start since March 10. Fortunately for the Vancouver Canucks, he hasn’t forgotten how to play goal.
Just like Brock Boeser hasn’t forgotten how to score, and the Canucks, who fended off elimination by beating the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1, haven’t forgotten how to believe in themselves when not many others did.
With starting goalie and team MVP Jacob Markstrom unable to play due to an undisclosed injury, Demko came in covered in cobwebs and left covered in glory with a titanic performance that extended the Canucks’ unlikely playoff run to at least Game 6 against the Knights on Thursday.
Vegas still leads the second-round series 3-2. But the Canucks are still in the fight and have put at least a little more pressure on the heavily-favoured Golden Knights, who outshot Vancouver 42-17.
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“You never know when you have to go in,” Demko said, having had only eight minutes of playoff relief before Tuesday’s unexpected start. “I just wanted to stay sharp through the whole process from training camp (in July) and getting into the bubble. I just wanted to be ready to help out.
“I know I’ve been doing my thing in practice to make sure my details are where they needed to be. Obviously, it’s a little bit different in a game. But everything you see in the game you’ve seen at some point in practice, and you just have to rely on that kind of thing.”
Sleep and healthy eating help, too, apparently.
“He’s a guy that goes to bed early and eats the right way,” defenceman Quinn Hughes said of Demko, eliciting a quick smirk from teammate Elias Pettersson during the post-game video call. “We knew that when he gets his chance, he’s going to be pretty dialled in. I don’t think anyone was surprised at how well he did, to be honest. We know how good he is. I think we all have a lot of confidence and faith in him.”
Demko made 22 saves in the first half of the game — Vancouver tested Vegas goalie Robin Lehner six times — and kept it scoreless until 15:12 of the second period when Knights defenceman Shea Theodore weaved through a series of Canucks’ shadows before burying a top-corner shot.
The goal felt like it might release a dam-burst of Vegas offence. Instead, on the next shift, Boeser worked a give-and-go with J.T. Miller before redirecting a backhand past Lehner to make it 1-1. All those shots and scoring chances and dominant shifts for the Knights to finally take a lead, and it lasted for just 24 seconds.
Somehow tied going into the third period, the Canucks exhorted themselves to play one good period and at 3:19 of the third, Pettersson deflected Boeser’s shot amid a jungle of players after Vancouver coach Travis Green had reunited his 6-40-9 Lotto Line, restoring the Boeser-Pettersson-Miller trio that was one of the NHL’s best for most of the season.
It was just the second goal in 12 playoff games for Boeser, who had had only one assist in the series.
“I don’t think we’d played together this series yet,” Boeser said. “And when we got reunited, I felt we were clicking pretty well. We knew where each other were. It was fun.
“I know I haven’t been scoring, and I know I need to score goals. I’ve been trying to bring my work ethic each and every game and contribute something to the team. It was nice to get one. I think it will definitely help the confidence. Hopefully I can keep playing this way.”
Boeser was the best Canuck not wearing goalie pads. Through two periods, he had 40 per cent of Vancouver’s 10 shots on goal.
The Golden Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault had eight shots of his own. Max Pacioretty had five shots. Both may have slept less fitfully than Demko after the game.
“I think it was lights out at maybe 10:05 or 10:10 p.m.,” Demko said when asked about his sleep Monday night after learning he’d be replacing Markstrom with the Canucks’ season in the balance. “These guys go to bed a little bit later than I do, but I like to be rested. I like to know I did everything I could to be ready to go.
“I slept great last night, thankfully. When you’re going into these games you try not to think too much and just go out and play. I’ve put in the work leading up to this point; you’ve just kind of got to rely on that.”
No one on the Canucks is saying how long Markstrom may be out, but the goalie who started Vancouver’s first 14 playoff games was unable to back up on Tuesday. So he is hurt, not merely tired.
“It’s funny, we didn’t even talk about that or mention that,” Hughes said of the players’ reaction to the goaltending switch. “(Thatcher) was awesome tonight, our best player. We’re fortunate to have two goalies like that.”
If the Canucks somehow win again on Thursday, the seven-game series will be decided the next night. By then, it will be the teams’ fifth playoff game in seven days. They may need two goalies each. Or three.
“We’ve got a really good team; we know that,” Hughes said. “The coaching staff believes in us and, most importantly, we believe in ourselves. We’ve got good leadership in the sense that we knew we didn’t play well in the first two periods and we went in the locker room and knew we needed to come back and push a little bit. I think that’s what we did.
“I think there’s a lot of faith in the group. We know they’re a really good team, but we think we’re a good team too.”
Better than almost anyone expected before these playoffs began.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
