Canucks’ Demko, DeSmith, Silovs in special NHL playoff win club

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Whether Casey DeSmith recovers in time or not to start Tuesday for the Vancouver Canucks against the Nashville Predators in Game 5 of their Pacific Division semi-final series, his team has already set a record.

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By having three different goalies record the first three wins of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canucks find themselves in rare company.

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Before this past week, just two other teams had started three different goalies in each of their first three wins of a playoff campaign.

The Canucks won Game 1 against the Nashville Predators with Thatcher Demko in goal.

But Demko suffered some sort of new knee injury late in the game and was replaced for Casey DeSmith in Game 2. DeSmith took the loss in Game 2, but then won Game 3 on Friday in Nashville.

DeSmith suffered an (undisclosed) injury of his own during the game and was a surprise scratch from Sunday’s Game 4. Artūrs Šilovs got the start for Game 4 and also recorded a win.

Demko, DeSmith and Šilovs join two past trios in this special club: the Canucks’ own Dan Cloutier, Johan Hedberg and Alex Auld in the 2004 conference quarterfinal (the Canucks lost the series to the Calgary Flames) and the 1972 Chicago Black Hawks, who got wins from Tony Esposito, Gary Smith and Gerry Desjardins on the way to a four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinals.

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Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said DeSmith’s status for Tuesday remained up in the air.

“It goes by hour. We’ll see how (it goes),” Tocchet said. “We’re not making a decision at this moment.”

Tocchet also didn’t commit to starting DeSmith in Game 5, even if he has recovered well enough to play. Šilovs’ play obviously has given Tocchet and the team’s director of goaltending some food for thought.

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