Thatcher Demko’s heroics can’t stop Golden Knights in Game 7

Vancouver backup goaltender Thatcher Demko was flawless for nearly seven full periods. He was called upon to rally the Canucks from a 3-1 series deficit in the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden Knights.

Nearly 139 shutout minutes weren’t enough.

Demko saw Shea Theodore’s shot from the point navigate through traffic and find the net with 6:08 to play in the third period and the Golden Knights added two empty-net goals as Vancouver fell 3-0 in Game 7 on Friday night in Edmonton, Alberta.

Demko did everything he could to keep the Canucks’ season alive Friday, stopping 33 of the 34 shots as his performance from the two previous games carried over to into Friday night.

“He was spectacular,” Vancouver forward Bo Horvat said. “We wouldn’t have been in this situation without him.

”He was a brick wall for us.”

The goal by Theodore snapped a 138:40 shutout streak that saw Demko stop 98 consecutive shots.

“There were times it felt like we could’ve played for six hours and not scored on him,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said.

The breakthrough moment for the Knights was deflating for Vancouver.

“Man, did he ever (give us a chance to win),” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “Obviously hurts. We have a bunch of guys who are upset right now and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

”The Stanley Cup is hard to win. It’s supposed to hurt.”

Demko was an unlikely hero for the Canucks, who started Jakob Markstrom in each of their first 14 postseason games. That included the first four of the series against the Knights.

When Markstrom was deemed unfit to play after Game 4 with the Canucks trailing 3-1, it could have been easy to write off the series. After all, Demko posted pedestrian numbers this season with a 13-10-2 record and a 3.06 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.

The rookie from San Diego once again rose to the moment in his first Game 7.

After Robin Lehner made one of the saves of the season on a breakaway, Demko found himself laid out in the crease only to flop around and keep the puck out of the net under an onslaught of Knights shots.

Even when a shot from Theodore got through his pads late in the second period and trickled up against the post, Demko was able to swat it away before anyone could get to the rebound.

“I felt great the whole game,” the Canucks’ 2014 second-round pick said. “No fatigue. I wanted to keep doing my job. I hadn’t played in a game so I had a lot in the tank. I felt fine.”

He hopes the performance will help prepare him for a potential expanded role next season.

“My first time playing in the playoffs and it was a little bit of an unexpected situation for me,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be going in. I just wanted to be ready.

“It’s a huge amount of experience playing in high-pressure elimination games. That’s great experience for a young player like me. I can’t wait to get back out there next season.”

The Knights will be happy to put him in their past this postseason.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.