Demko shines as Canucks squeeze past Stars 2-0

VANCOUVER -

After his second shutout of the young NHL season, Thatcher Demko shone the spotlight on his teammates after the Vancouver Canucks took down the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Saturday night at Rogers Arena.

“It feels great to see that commitment level and you can tell the guys are playing for one another,” said the 27-year-old, who improved his career record against the Stars to 7-0-0.

“It's a special feeling when that kind of takes over the room. We're excited about tonight. We know we've been playing some good hockey, but obviously we still have to continue to grow. It's one game at a time. Enjoy tonight but get back to work.”

The Stars came into Vancouver on a three-game win streak, but playing their third game in four nights as they wrapped up their tour of Western Canada. With a 7-1-1 record, it was a tight contest between two good teams playing strong hockey.

“We had a couple opportunities to maybe get the first goal, which I think would have been critical tonight,” said Dallas coach Peter DeBoer. “They got it. I think it was one of those nights where whoever gets that first goal, it's a big advantage. It looked, right from the start, like neither goalie was going to give up a whole lot.”

One crucial save came early in the first period, when Demko flashed the leather to stop Wyatt Johnston on a point-blank power-play chance.

“That was a huge save,” said Stars forward Sam Steel. “He put a good shot on it, too. A lot of times those go in and it's a big save. I guess it shifted momentum a bit.”

All told, Demko made 27 stops for the shutout, while Pius Suter and Elias Pettersson scored Vancouver's goals. Jake Oettinger made 26 saves for Dallas.

Both goals came in the second period. First, Suter streaked to the slot and converted a give-and-go play with Dakota Joshua. Later, Pettersson's sixth of the year was a sharp one-timer off a pinpoint pass from Filip Hronek.

“I saw he looked over, so I was hoping for him to find me there, which he did,” said Pettersson. He's now on a five-game point streak and, with 20 points this season, has tied Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils for first place overall in NHL scoring.

“Both (Hronek) and Quinn (Hughes) are playing fantastic now,” he added. “They're moving the puck well. Hronek can skate the puck well and he's got good skills out there as well.”

With the win, the Canucks moved to 5-0-1 in their last six games, remain unbeaten in regulation on home ice, and improved their overall record to 8-2-1, tied with the New York Rangers for third overall in the NHL.

Each team saw plenty of special-teams opportunities, but the power play came up empty on both sides. Vancouver went 0-for-5 against the NHL's second-best penalty kill, while Dallas was 0-for-3 on their power play.

“I like our penalty kills,” said Tocchet, who made that a point of emphasis for improvement this season and now has Vancouver up to a success rate of over 78 per cent. “We've had some unfortunate 5-on-3s this year, some goals. But structurally, I think we've done a nice job.”

A fast-paced first period was scoreless thanks to strong goaltending at both ends of the ice. In the middle frame, Vancouver tilted the ice and outshot Dallas 14-5.

Late in the second, Ian Cole and Mason Marchment dropped the gloves after Cole laid a hard hit on Stars forward Matt Duchene. Duchene did not return to the game.

“I don't have an update on him,” said DeBoer. “I understand that he's doing pretty good, so that's the latest I've heard.”

The third period was scoreless, with the shots 9-6 for Dallas. The Stars' best chance came when Craig Smith got in alone just over five minutes in. With Demko in perfect position on his post, Smith's shot attempt bounced off the outside of the net.

“At times, it seemed like we had a little bit of momentum and maybe we didn't have everyone around the puck quite as much as we'd hoped,” Smith said. “We had a couple good looks. We pop one in and it's a completely different game at the end.”

NOTES

The Canucks came into Saturday's game as the NHL's highest-scoring team, averaging 4.6 goals per game, and had the league's best goal differential at plus-24. Vancouver's 7-2-1 start through 10 games is their third-best in franchise history. They tallied 17 points in their first 10 games in 1991-92 and 2005-06. With 16 points in nine games, Elias Pettersson was named the NHL's second star of the month.

UP NEXT

The Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday before hitting the road for Eastern Canada.

The Stars return home to face the Boston Bruins on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2023.