Thatcher Demko Breaks NHL Record With 48 Saves in 4-0 Canucks Win
Former Boston College goalie Thatcher Demko did everything he had to do to help his team win. Just two days removed from his first playoff win, Demko topped his previous performance with a shutout in a 4-0 Game 6 victory for the Vancouver Canucks over the Vegas Golden Knights. The 24 year old made 48 saves, an NHL playoff record for a game that did not go into overtime.
Demko, now 2-0 in the playoffs, got the start again as Canucks starting goalie Jacob Markstrom was deemed unfit to perform. "Thatcher's been our MVP [in Games 5 and 6]," Vancouver forward Jake Virtanen said. "He's standing on his head back there and making some amazing saves, keeping us in games. You can see the confidence he has back there. He's just calm and collected and playing his game."
It was an unbelievable performance for Demko, who had 17 saves in the second period and 22 saves in the third period. In his first shutout at the NHL level, Demko stopped everything put on goal, a herculean effort given the amount of shots coming his way. Since allowing a goal to Shea Theodore in Game 5, Demko has made 66 straight saves.
The young goalie is in his first full season with the Canucks, and has had some starting experience in the regular season filling in for Markstrom in February and March. During the season he had a 13-10 record with a .905% save percentage. In his time at Boston College, Demko went 35-18-6 and departed Chestnut Hill after his sophomore season in 2014-15.
"My job's the same regardless of the score," Demko explained after the game "I just try to keep pucks out of the net. It doesn't matter if it's 1-0, we're down 1-0 or up by three. I'm just trying to make the saves I have to make to make sure they can find a way to win."
It will be a quick turnaround for both teams as Vegas and Vancouver will play Game 7 tonight at 9PM ET on the NBCSN. It is unclear if Demko or Markstrom who missed the previous two games, will start.
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