Demko surrendered five goals on 49 shots in the Canucks loss in Florida on January 9th. He hasn't played a lot lately but has lost his first two outings in January while giving up eight goals on 65 shots (.877 SV%). Tonight he faces the Sharks for the second time this season, he stopped 24 of 26 shots in a 5-2 win in San Jose in early-November.
Demko allowed three goals on 16 shots after replacing Jacob Markstrom in the Canucks blowout loss in Tampa Bay on Tuesday. It was a rough night for both netminders but they'll give Demko his 14th start of the season in their second game of a Florida swing. He is 3-4-0 with a 3.13 GAA and .902 SV% on the road, so it should be easy to find a better option on an 11-game slate.
Lankinen served as Corey Crawford's backup for the last two games so his return to the AHL suggests that Robin Lehner will be available on Thursday.
Forbort was recently recalled from his conditioning stint with Ontario (AHL), where he had one goal in five games. Forbort, who played over 85 percent of his 5v5 ice-time with Drew Doughty last season could be eased back into the lineup on the third-pair tonight but will almost certainly play with Doughty at some point in the near future.
With Robin Lehner listed as day-to-day with a right knee injury, Lankinen comes up to serve as Corey Crawford's backup. Lankinen has gone 7-7-1 with a 3.17 GAA and .905 SV% in 15 AHL games.
Brisebois did not appear in an NHL game during his call-up. He swaps spots with Jalen Chatfield and returns to Utica, where he has three goals and eight assists (11 points) in 26 games.
Ferland is with an "upper-body injury" but he is still dealing with concussion-like symptoms and was set to meet with a specialist this week. Being moved to LTIR suggests that Ferland received bad news and will be out long-term.
Brisebois comes up to replace Jalen Chatfield as the Canucks No.6/No.7 defenseman. Brisebois has no points in eight career NHL games but has posted 11 points (3G / 8A) in 26 games with Utica this season.
Demko suffered a concussion in practice Wednesday, coach Travis Green said ahead of Thursday’s game vs. the Hurricanes. Loui Eriksson collided with Demko while taking the puck to the net in practice and Demko also took a shot off the mask at one point as well. Mike DiPietro has been recalled from Utica (AHL) and is expected to serve as Jacob Markstrom's backup on Thursday.
Ferland was forced to leave Tuesday's game vs. the Maple Leafs with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Ferland was in just his second game back after missing 17 games with a concussion. There's obvious fear that Ferland could be dealing with another concussion, which would sideline him for an extended period of time. The Canucks recalled Zack MacEwan from Utica (AHL), which suggests Ferland won't play Thursday.
Ferland has been our since October 30th but will play Saturday afternoon vs. the Sabres. Ferland, who will start on the fourth line with Jay Beagle and Tim Schaller, has one goal and four assists in 12 games this season.
Demko surrendered two goals on 42 shots in the Canucks win over the Senators on Tuesday. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for Demko, who will start for the 12th time this season on Saturday afternoon. The 23-year-old has gone 4-0-1 with a 2.62 GAA and .919 SV% in five home games this season.
Demko gave up seven goals on 39 shots in the Canucks loss in Pittsburgh last Wednesday. It was a wild game and it ended up being Demko's worst outing of the season. After playing fantastic in October, Demko had a tough time in November, going 2-3-1 with a 3.73 GAA and .886 SV%. Despite losing three straight starts, Demko has some spot-start appeal with the Senators in town.
Lankinen came up to serve as Corey Crawford's backup on Monday but heads back to the AHL with Robin Lehner (illness) likely back on Thursday.
Lankinen will backup Corey Crawford on Monday because Robin Lehner is dealing with flu-like symptoms. The 24-year-old netminder has gone 5-2-2 with a 2.48 GAA and .924 SV% in the AHL this season.
Jacob Markstrom was originally announced as the starter for tonight's game. Canucks head coach Travis Green said Markstrom showed up at the rink a little under the weather, so Demko will instead get the nod.
