It's a hopeful sign for the Vancouver Canucks.
Injured goalie Thatcher Demko was one of three goaltenders participating in Canucks practice on Friday at UBC.
Though he left early and Kevin Lankinen and Arturs Silovs took the bulk of the work with the skaters, it's a welcome development for the team that has been relying heavily on Lankinen while its starting goalie remains absent.
"He did three drills, and I think the next practice... He might be full go next practice. I'm not 100 per cent sure on that," head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters. "He felt pretty good today, so let's leave it at that."
The 2024 Vezina Trophy runner-up was placed on IR, retroactive to Feb. 8, after he was forced to leave his last start before the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a lower-body injury.
At the time, Tocchet told reporters that the injury wasn't serious, nor related to his knee.
Tyler Myers also returned to practice after missing Wednesday's game against the Calgary Flames. The Canucks didn't provide a reason for his late scratch, but the defenceman did appear in some discomfort the night before after blocking a few late shots.
Defenceman Elias Pettersson took to the ice as well, appearing no worse for wear after he left Wednesday's game in the first period following an elbow to the head from Connor Zary. The Flames forward was suspended two games for the hit.
Tocchet told reporters after Friday's practice that Myers has been upgraded to probable for Saturday's game and Pettersson is fully available.
Tocchet also said that the younger Pettersson was dealing with the flu prior to Wednesday's game and pulled him out for precautionary reasons as medical staff weren't sure if his symptoms were concussion or illness-related.
Per the Canucks, defenceman Filip Hronek and forward Conor Garland did not practise Friday because of maintenance days. Hronek played a season-high 28:07 on Wednesday night.
The Canucks return to action on Hockey Night in Canada to face the Chicago Blackhawks. Watch it all unfold on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
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