Canucks stave off elimination with improbable Game 5 victory
The Vancouver Canucks avoided elimination on Tuesday with their 2-1 victory in Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Despite being outshot 43-17, the Canucks held on for the win on the back of Thatcher Demko's incredible playoff debut. He's the first rookie goaltender since Jose Theodore in 1997 to win his NHL playoff debut when facing elimination, according to Sportsnet Stats.
"You never know what's going to happen, so I've just been working in practice and been staying mentally sharp in case I was called upon," Demko said. "This is what I've wanted to be a part of since I was a kid. This is super special and I want to help the team any way I can."
Vancouver didn't do Demko many favors early, taking over 10 minutes in the opening frame to record its first shot on goal. Vegas outshot Vancouver 10-6 while registering four high-danger scoring chances to the Canucks' one, but the game remained without a goal after the first period.
Vegas held the puck and maintained the pressure for much of the second stanza, too. Demko made several key saves, helping to keep Vegas off the board for as long as he could while Vancouver failed to record a shot on goal for the first 12:28 of the period.
The Golden Knights finally scored with under five minutes remaining in the second when Shea Theodore weaved his way through the offensive zone. However, seconds later Brock Boeser tipped one past Robin Lehner to tie the game.
"They didn't have many shots but they had some chances," Lehner said, according to NHL.com's Danny Webster. "It would've been nice to come up with the save (on Boeser) and go into the third up 1-0. We've just got to look at the next one."
Despite the equal score through two, Vegas dominated in every facet of the game. At all strengths, the Golden Knights held a 66.67 Corsi For percentage while outshooting Vancouver 28-10.
Elias Pettersson tipped another shot past Lehner just minutes into the third, and Vancouver held on for the rest of the game. Demko finished with 42 saves, while Lehner stopped 15 of the 17 he faced.
Game 6 takes place Thursday at 9:45 p.m. ET.
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