Canucks Dealt Huge Blow With News That Thatcher Demko Could Miss Entire Series Against Predators

The Vancouver Canucks are tied with the Buffalo Sabres (both of whom entered the NHL in 1970) as the oldest team to not win a Stanley Cup.

This season is looking like their best shot to change that since they went to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the Boston Bruins in Game 7, at which point fans lit the city on fire.

However, the Canucks hopes of finally winning a Cup — while not completely dashed — just got decreased in a big way with news that goaltender Thatcher Demko will miss Tuesday's Game 2 against the Nashville Predators and possibly the rest of the season.

Vancouver is the top seed in the Pacific Division and as such drew the Nashville Predators who came into the postseason as the first wild-card seed.

The Predators made a massive push through late February and into March and were one of the hottest teams in the NHL down the stretch making them a tougher than you'd think matchup for the Canucks.

Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko has been ruled out of Game 2 against the Nashville Predators. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)

In Game 1, Nashville jumped out to an early lead but fought back with three unanswered goals in the third period to win 4-2.

Demko's play was a key in keeping the Canucks in the game through the first two periods, but now, they'll be without him.

Head coach Rick Tocchet told the media that Demko didn't skate on Tuesday morning, but said that the injury the netminder is dealing with is not the same one that forced him to miss some time late in the year.

"He skated yesterday. He’s not going to play tonight," Tocchet said, per the Associated Press. "It wasn’t the old injury and that’s all I really got for you guys."

That "old injury" was a knee injury, and while it may not be the same injury, TSN's Farhan Lalji reports that it is an injury to that same knee.

Demko has been one of the best goalies in the league this season, but the Canucks will have to go forward at least in the short term with Casey DeSmith. He was 12-9-6 this season.

Without Demko, the Canucks are 7-5-2 this season. That's not terrible, but it's not great, and when you consider how well the Predators have played the last couple of months, this could be an issue for the Canucks.