The Vancouver Canucks will welcome back Thatcher Demko to the lineup when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
Demko, the Canucks’ No. 1 goalie, has missed 12 games with a lower-body injury sustained Nov. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets. He allowed three goals on eight shots in the first period of Vancouver’s 5-3 loss before exiting the game.
He is 5-4-0 with a 2.80 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in 10 games this season.
“I feel ready to go,” Demko said. “It was a minor tweak of something, and pretty much just had to give it time and get the reps back, so we’ve done that and excited to be hopefully back in the lineup.”
His start against Winnipeg came after not dressing the previous two games because of another injury.
“There’s a narrative around the whole situation, but any guy can go through and have a great summer and then get hurt,” Demko said. “I have been sitting there pretty much just beating myself up for a week and you feel guilty and you feel bummed out and (ticked) off and all those things. But it’s part of the game, and I can only control so much.”
The Canucks enter the game in last place in the NHL. They’re coming off a 4-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday and are 3-8-3 in their past 14 games.
Struggles at home have been an issue for the Canucks, who are 4-9-1 at Rogers Arena. The nine points accumulated at home are tied for fewest in the league with the New York Rangers (3-8-3), while their four home wins are second fewest, tied with the Los Angeles Kings.
And while they’ll get Demko back for the matchup, they’ll still be without Elias Pettersson. The Canucks’ top center, whose 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) co-lead the team with Quinn Hughes, was expected to join the team for practice Wednesday but instead skated on his own. He’ll miss a third straight game Thursday with an upper-body injury.
The Sabres arrive in Vancouver looking for a second straight win after skating away with a 4-3 victory in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Buffalo held a 3-0 lead after two periods before Edmonton rallied to tie it, with Connor McDavid netting the equalizer with two seconds remaining in regulation. Alex Tuch responded with the winner 33 seconds into OT.
“It’s a huge win for us,” center Tage Thompson said. “We’ve had by no means an easy season altogether. (We’ve) faced a lot of adversity, but I think that builds character, makes you stronger as a team — it just depends how you face it. I thought we handled tonight really well.”
Already without winger Jason Zucker after he was injured in Monday’s 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames, the Sabres were dealt another blow right before Tuesday’s tilt when center Josh Norris was a late scratch because of illness and soreness.
Coach Lindy Ruff said the soreness was unrelated to any previous injury. It’s unknown if Norris will be available against Vancouver.
The Sabres’ power play has been on a roll this month. They’ve scored in each of the five games they’ve played while going 7-for-23, a 30.4% success rate. They’re now 13th in the league (20%) after sitting 21st on Nov. 30 (16.7%).
