Canucks confident DeSmith can lead final push to playoffs

VANCOUVER — No more Mr. Nice Guy. Rick Tocchet has revealed his mean side.

In discussing the Vancouver Canucks’ sudden transition to Casey DeSmith as their starting goalie, while all-star Thatcher Demko recovers from a lower-body injury, the team’s coach said Tuesday that players are more likely to sacrifice themselves for a goalie they like on a personal level.

“Listen, I'll be honest — I've been in the league somehow forty years or whatever — when you like the goalie, you tend to block more shots for the guy,” Tocchet told reporters after the Canucks practised at Rogers Arena. “I've had some goalies where you're not a big fan of the guy. I'm not saying I kind of veered out of the way (of shots), but when you really like a goalie, you really dive in. Those guys really love Casey, so I think you'll see a lot of guys willing to block shots. Like they do for Demmer.”

Naturally, this led to a follow-up question about which goalies Tocchet did not like during his 18 years as a National Hockey League player, and later a deep dive into hockeydb.com to see all the puck-stoppers he played with.

Since Tocchet didn’t name names — “I didn’t block shots for any goalies” — it would be irresponsible for us to speculate. But we’re guessing one of them wasn’t amiable Sportsnet analyst Kelly Hrudey in Los Angeles back in the day. 

The coach was correct in saying DeSmith is popular with his teammates. Their fondness for the 32-year-old backup should not be overlooked.

After a report Monday that Demko will miss 2-3 weeks with a knee injury sustained in Saturday’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets, Tocchet said only that the Vezina Trophy candidate is out “week to week” with a “lower-body injury.”

The timeframe for Demko’s injury, like the damaged tissue in his leg, is soft. DeSmith could be the starter for two games or two weeks or still be taking the net at the end of March, when Stanley Cup playoffs will be looming.

When the Colorado Avalanche visit Rogers Arena on Wednesday, Demko will be the first top-six player on the Canucks to miss a game this season. Forwards J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson, and defencemen Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek have played all 66 games for the Canucks, who by going 42-17-7 have built a 10-point cushion on the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division race.

Even the timing of Demko’s injury is lucky. The Canucks have only two contests over a span of nine days, and are one game into a leisurely nine-game homestand through the end of March. But there is that little Stanley Cup thingy starting six weeks from now.

“I've thought of that, right?” Tocchet said of the timing of Demko’s absence. “Do I want him hurt? No. Do I want him in the net tomorrow? Of course. But. . . (however) long he's out, he's going to definitely get a mental (break) and be fresher for us. So let's use it as an advantage for us.

“I don't think anybody's ever 100 per cent. But to the standards that we have, he's not going to play until. . . he's as close to 100 per cent as possible.”

So worst-case, there’s no chance that Demko won’t be healthy and ready for the playoffs?

“I'm not worried about that at all,” Tocchet said. “At all.”

The coach is also not worried about DeSmith, who started 14 of 17 games during one stretch last season when Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry was hurt. DeSmith became accustomed to filling in for injured starters during his 4 ½ seasons in Pittsburgh.

“Jars got hurt, like, once or twice a year, every year,” DeSmith said. “They were for varying amounts of time. I had an eight-game run (last season). And Matt Murray was pretty injury prone, too, so when I first came into league I had some decent runs.

“Obviously, the workload is higher and I guess you could make the argument that the pressure is higher. Although, I think going two weeks (not playing as a backup) and then having to play, I think that's a little bit harder. Overall, I think feeling the game and having more exposure to in-game stuff generally makes you more comfortable in the net. It's just easier to get in a rhythm.”

The Canucks acquired DeSmith from the Montreal Canadiens in a pre-season trade, sending Tanner Pearson and a third-round pick east to upgrade and solidify their backup goaltending.

DeSmith went 4-0-1 in his first five starts for Vancouver. But he had lost four straight starts (over a six-week period) and endured an eight-goal ventilation Feb. 19 in Minnesota before helping the Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 nine days ago. 

When Demko had to leave Saturday’s game 6:40 into the second period and the Canucks leading 4-0, DeSmith came in cold and stopped all 10 shots he faced to share the shutout. For the season, the goalie from Rochester, N.H., is 8-4-5 with a .900 save rate.

“I like to hope that the guys feel confidence in me after this whole season,” DeSmith said. “They know me as a person and they know my work ethic, and I hope that all of that kind of helps with this transition for however long it is.”

Canucks Ian Cole, Teddy Blueger and Sam Lafferty all played with DeSmith in Pittsburgh.

“Listen, Demmer is an elite, Vezina-caliber, Vezina-winning — hopefully — goaltender,” Cole said Tuesday. “He's elite, and we know that. But the thing is, we also have that faith in Casey. 

“Everyone in this room thinks Casey is a great goaltender. In our minds he's the best backup in the league, and we're very lucky to have him. We know that he can easily handle this load going forward.”

And to Tocchet’s point about DeSmith’s popularity with teammates, Cole said: “He's one of the best people that I've ever met in hockey. He's a fantastic person. We have a lot of those guys on this team. But he's a fantastic person. He's great to be around. He's always smiling, always having a good time. It doesn't matter if he doesn't play for 15 games in a row, he's always working and he's always in a great mood doing it. So he's a fantastic guy, a guy that we all can get behind here.”

DeSmith is taking the net not only with the Canucks on a four-game winning streak, but playing arguably their most disciplined, defensively-focussed hockey all season.

In wins against Anaheim, Los Angeles, Vegas and Winnipeg, each one more impressive than the last, Vancouver has allowed only 23 shots per game and surrendered just three goals.

Tocchet believes replacing Demko with DeSmith will further sharpen defensive awareness and discourage Canuck players from taking unnecessary risks.

“You think, 'Hey, Casey hasn't played a ton,’” Tocchet said. “’Do I want to put him in some bad situations? If I turn the puck over, they get a three-on-one. I think those guys are conscious of that. I think that comes into play. And the guy dumps it in (to be safe) because he likes him. I don't know if that makes sense. So if a guy. . . doesn't dump it in tomorrow and it’s a three-on-one (for the Avalanche), you're going to say he doesn't like the guy?”

Not if the coach tells us which goalies he couldn’t stand.

• While Demko is out, second-pairing defenceman Tyler Myers practised Tuesday and is ready to return after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. . . The Canucks recalled 22-year-old goalie prospect Arturs Silovs, the hero for Latvia at the last spring’s world championships who is having another strong season in the American Hockey League.