Thatcher Demko | #35 | G

[Alflives]

40 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

He is, but our special teams certainly haven't helped, nor has our defense. Carolina turned the puck around seemingly at will earlier and had more shorthanded chances than I've seen any team have on the PK in ages. Their puck control and ability to have dangerous rush after rush seemingly out of nowhere was more than we could handle. 

 

We've been playing the cream of the league and we don't belong in that group, the gap was pretty evident today. He's got to be better, but numbers without context are just numbers. He needs to be better, but the team as a whole, despite their efforts, hasn't been great. Florida was the better team almost all game, and all Tampa had to do to beat us was flip the special teams switch despite our being in the mix 5v5. Carolina straight up outclassed us. 

 

He's a great tender playing behind a fringe playoff team, I think people forget that at times. We're not the sort of team that's going to win most nights if our goaltender is simply average. Our defense and forward depth isn't usually going to be enough to make up for that, particularly when our special teams struggle. 

We just played three top teams and gave up a total of 79 shots.  That’s friggin’ incredible defensive play!  And in those three games we had over 130 shots on the opponents.  So we outshot those teams by fifty!  Demko isn’t the only reason why we lost those games, but he’s clearly the biggest.  We can’t have our goalie stopping the puck at .848, especially while the other teams’ goalies are stopping pucks at .960.  

[JM_]

5 minutes ago, Alflives said:

We just played three top teams and gave up a total of 79 shots.  That’s friggin’ incredible defensive play!  And in those three games we had over 130 shots on the opponents.  So we outshot those teams by fifty!  Demko isn’t the only reason why we lost those games, but he’s clearly the biggest.  We can’t have our goalie stopping the puck at .848, especially while the other teams’ goalies are stopping pucks at .960.  

PP let us down. Thats pretty much the story of the last 3 games.

 

We need one more big body that plays ugly. We need a Perry in his prime, or even a Burr, that can can disrupt goalies, own the net front, and get guys off their game. 

Edited January 15, 2022 by JM_

[Coconuts]

19 minutes ago, Alflives said:

We just played three top teams and gave up a total of 79 shots.  That’s friggin’ incredible defensive play!  And in those three games we had over 130 shots on the opponents.  So we outshot those teams by fifty!  Demko isn’t the only reason why we lost those games, but he’s clearly the biggest.  We can’t have our goalie stopping the puck at .848, especially while the other teams’ goalies are stopping pucks at .960.  

Florida outchanced us despite having fewer shots, the Tampa game was close and special teams were the difference. These teams are better than us, the margin for error is smaller and they capitalized on the chances we gave them while shutting us down enough to win. We got run over today, no question. 

 

As for shot totals, all shots aren't created equally. Some are more dangerous than others, I wouldn't say we looked particularly dangerous against Florida or Carolina despite our shot totals. And yes, I've watched all of our games. Demko needs to be better, but it's more than Demko which is why I take issue with folks piling on. If we need our goaltender to play out of his mind every game to have a chance of winning we simply aren't very good. If our team's margin for error is so small that they can't get away with their goaltender being average at times they're simply not as good as some of us think they are.

Edited January 16, 2022 by Coconuts

[Coconuts]

14 minutes ago, JM_ said:

PP let us down. Thats pretty much the story of the last 3 games.

 

We need one more big body that plays ugly. We need a Perry in his prime, or even a Burr, that can can disrupt goalies, own the net front, and get guys off their game. 

They did, but it's not just that. There are two sides to that coin. Our powerplay has been cold, but these are top teams actively shutting us down. Tampa's PK is middle of the road and our best players couldn't capitalize on four attempts. We're lucky we didn't give up a shortie today, Carolina's PK absolutely schooled us. 

 

Leads to a lot of questions about our forwards and PP units, but you've also got to credit the other team. Regardless of where their PK ranks on the list, these are top teams for a reason. 

 

Those kind of players are rare, that's a tall ask. With minimal cap space and a president who doesn't want to move out picks or prospects what you see is likely what you get. If this group can't figure it out they'll sink as a group. 

[JM_]

Just now, Coconuts said:

They did, but it's not just that. There are two sides to that coin. Our powerplay has been cold, but these are top teams actively shutting us down. Tampa's PK is middle of the road and our best players couldn't capitalize on four attempts. We're lucky we didn't give up a shortie today, Carolina's PK absolutely schooled us. 

 

Leads to a lot of questions about our forwards and PP units, but you've also got to credit the other team. Regardless of where their PK ranks on the list, these are top teams for a reason. 

 

Those kind of players are rare, that's a tall ask. With minimal cap space and a president who doesn't want to move out picks or prospects what you see is likely what you get. If this group can't figure it out they'll sink as a group. 

well, thats what he said coming in prior to hiring his management group. We'll see what the analysis is once the group is in place. 

 

We have lots of skill, they need a big body to make space and get in the heads of other teams. 

 

I don't know if a trade is possible, but even a guy like Greenway would be a great addition. I really wanted McTavish last draft, he seems to be that in the making. 

[Coconuts]

2 minutes ago, JM_ said:

well, thats what he said coming in prior to hiring his management group. We'll see what the analysis is once the group is in place. 

 

We have lots of skill, they need a big body to make space and get in the heads of other teams. 

 

I don't know if a trade is possible, but even a guy like Greenway would be a great addition. I really wanted McTavish last draft, he seems to be that in the making. 

Yeah, we'll have to wait and see. But I don't believe this group is good enough, and I expect we'll see changes. 

[Alflives]

5 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

Yeah, we'll have to wait and see. But I don't believe this group is good enough, and I expect we'll see changes. 

We just outshot three of the top teams 130 to 80.  We are a pretty good team, who just had crap goaltending.  Demko’s details are sloppy right now.  He’s playing like he’s tired.  

[-AJ-]

2 minutes ago, Alflives said:

We just outshot three of the top teams 130 to 80.  We are a pretty good team, who just had crap goaltending.  Demko’s details are sloppy right now.  He’s playing like he’s tired.  

I do think we also have to note that our guys aren't scoring either. Both sides aren't pulling their weight. Even if we can get shots on net, if we can't score at all, then something is wrong with our shots.

[Coconuts]

12 minutes ago, Alflives said:

We just outshot three of the top teams 130 to 80.  We are a pretty good team, who just had crap goaltending.  Demko’s details are sloppy right now.  He’s playing like he’s tired.  

I don't care how many shots we had Alf, we were outscored 13-5. They can shoot all they want but if they're not scoring on that many shots they're probably not all high quality shots. A shot from the perimeter isn't the same as a shot from the slot, all shots are not equal. Losing is on more than just goaltending, it's on the team as a whole. Demko needs to be better, but this entire team needs to be better. And credit the opposing teams for shutting us down, they've done a great job and it's been a bit of a reality check for some folks.

 

Carolina made us look like chumps, Florida was the better team from the second period on, and despite the guys playing their butts off against Tampa they got shut down by a PK ranked 15th four times. Our powerplay has stunk, they're not moving their feet and they haven't been getting shots on net. We've gone 5/8 on the PK. 

 

A team can play with heart, try, and still not be good enough. We've got zero points to show for our efforts, and with Washington, Nashville, Florida, St. Louis, and Edmonton as our next five games it's not about to get any easier. 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Coconuts

[Alflives]

11 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

I do think we also have to note that our guys aren't scoring either. Both sides aren't pulling their weight. Even if we can get shots on net, if we can't score at all, then something is wrong with our shots.

Of course we need to score more.  What does that have to do with Demko stopping pucks at less than .850?  

[-AJ-]

10 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Of course we need to score more.  What does that have to do with Demko stopping pucks at less than .850?  

Nothing at all, but your statement that "we are a pretty good team, who just had crap goaltending" insinuates that the only reason we aren't winning right now is Demko. Demko is certainly playing poorly, but it's inaccurate to insinuate that we're good outside of Demko.

[Canuck Luck]

5 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Nothing at all, but your statement that "we are a pretty good team, who just had crap goaltending" insinuates that the only reason we aren't winning right now is Demko. Demko is certainly playing poorly, but it's inaccurate to insinuate that we're good outside of Demko.

alf doesn't let reality get in the way of his posts lmao.

[Alflives]

3 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Nothing at all, but your statement that "we are a pretty good team, who just had crap goaltending" insinuates that the only reason we aren't winning right now is Demko. Demko is certainly playing poorly, but it's inaccurate to insinuate that we're good outside of Demko.

Shots were 130 to 80.  Demko stopped pucks at .848.  Even if we score a goal or even two more each game we still lose.  He’s our most important player.  When he stinks, which he has, we lose.  

[-AJ-]

30 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Shots were 130 to 80.  Demko stopped pucks at .848.  Even if we score a goal or even two more each game we still lose.  He’s our most important player.  When he stinks, which he has, we lose.  

I agree, but Alf, you're not catching my nuance. My point is that Demko isn't the only one who's at fault here. Imagine Demko had a regular .910 save percentage. Guess what? We'd still be losing, because we can't score. You need both to work to win and neither have been for the last few games.

[Mackcanuck]

50 wins for Thatcher! 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Mackcanuck

[N4ZZY]

3 minutes ago, Mackcanuck said:

50 wins for Thatcher! 

 

 

The man is a beast. Where would this team without him this season? 

 

[N4ZZY]

21 hours ago, -AJ- said:

I agree, but Alf, you're not catching my nuance. My point is that Demko isn't the only one who's at fault here. Imagine Demko had a regular .910 save percentage. Guess what? We'd still be losing, because we can't score. You need both to work to win and neither have been for the last few games.

better game from Demko and the team today against Washington. Can they win in Nashville? IF they do, they go 2-3 on this road trip. Better than 0-5, or 1-4. 

 

[-AJ-]

2 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

better game from Demko and the team today against Washington. Can they win in Nashville? IF they do, they go 2-3 on this road trip. Better than 0-5, or 1-4. 

 

Both sides definitely played better. 2-3 isn't amazing and isn't good enough to give us a serious playoff chance, but it wouldn't be that bad all things considered.

[aGENT]

29 minutes ago, Mackcanuck said:

50 wins for Thatcher! 

 

 

And those goalies had far better teams in front of them.

[-AJ-]

1 hour ago, aGENT said:

And those goalies had far better teams in front of them.

Definitely true. Luongo's team was pretty heavily carried by Lu, but there's no doubting that they were better. Schneider's team was one of the best we ever had, and Cloutier has the good fortune of playing with the West Coast Express. Demko's winning record is impressive given how poorly his backups have done.