Thatcher Demko, the goalie for the Vancouver Canucks, seems to have a little more background information on his injuries.
Goaltender analyst Kevin Woodley joined Sportsnet 650’s Halford and Brough on Monday and revealed that Demko is undergoing treatment for a Popliteus muscle ailment, albeit neither the Canucks nor Demko have verified this.
“A lot of uncertainty exists around this injury, and even though he feels like he can recover fully and has been doing well the last few weeks after taking a month off, there is still a lot of unknown involved,” Woodley stated. There is no longer any doubt as to what it is, which is the one thing I can clarify in terms of uncertainty. Now that you’ve got your Web MD out, search for Popliteus.
It is a little muscle behind the back of the knee that resembles a triangle. And it appears that’s where the damage was sustained. We’re not sure how much of a rip it is, but this is essentially a muscle located deep on the back of your knee, underneath multiple layers of other muscles. It is not very effective. It essentially fastens to the femur’s upper interior and then returns to the tibia on the upper side.
It actually has very little effect on knee flexion for runners, but it does release the knee joint from its straight position by pulling the lateral meniscus back and out of the way. It is really rare, and I’m not sure if he’s taken it off the bone at the ligament or how much damage there is. It’s a tiny but rather substantial ligament. A few of the people I’ve spoken with have spent thirty years doing this at the NHL level. They haven’t witnessed it. Thus, what they’re giving us tracks, and even though it’s tiny and marginal, there’s clearly doubt that results from the lack of any kind of recommended method to either fix it. One of the first things you’ll notice when you study it up is that the healing period can range from three to sixteen weeks. Nothing like hammering it home, then?
Against the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs’ first round, Demko initially sustained the injury. He had been healing from the injury during the offseason, but he disclosed last week at the opening of training camp that he had reached a plateau in his recuperation at some point in the summer.
Demko has improved over the previous few weeks while playing every session on the ice during the Canucks’ training camp last week, but there isn’t a set timeline for his return at this point.
After recording a 35-14-2 record, a.918% save percentage, five shutouts, and an unexpected 25.83 goals saved, Demko is coming off of his greatest season to date. In his one postseason game, he not only earned the victory but also had a save percentage of.917%.
Since Demko’s comeback is uncertain, the Canucks will have some goaltender challenges early in the season. As a result, Arturs Silovs will assume the starting role for the time being. In case Demko is out, the Canucks also added Kevin Lankinen to their roster over the weekend.
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