Canucks’ Thatcher Demko leaves game against Maple Leafs

Not a good sign in Vancouver.

In the first period of a game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko left the game due to an undisclosed issue.

Demko started the game, but at the halfway mark of the first period, the 29-year-old abruptly left the ice and went down the tunnel toward the locker room. Kevin Lankinen stepped in between the pipes. The Canucks officially announced that Demko wouldn’t return once the second period started.

Demko stopped all six shots he faced. Since Vancouver defender Filip Hronek scored seven minutes into the game, Demko was the goaltender of record when he exited the contest.

The team didn’t exactly say why exactly Demko left the contest. However, during pregame warm-ups, it appeared the former Boston College star tweaked something while doing some crease work.

The visual of Demko leaving the game is not what fans in Vancouver want to see. Their franchise goaltender has had a growing list of injury issues over the last few years, including a knee injury that took him out of last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. That led to Demko missing the first two months of the season.

Then, early in January, a freak collision led to another lower-body injury for the San Diego native, though that only kept him out for a week. However, the stops and starts of Demko’s season aren’t necessarily helping him get back to 100%.

In fact, despite winning his last two starts before Saturday night, Demko has hardly looked like the netminder who was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season. In 16 games, Demko is 6-6-3 with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .889 save percentage and one shutout.

The Canucks (25-18-11) entered Saturday night fourth in the Pacific Division, holding the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.