Thatcher Demko made 42 saves to become the 15th goalie in NHL history, and second in two nights, to win his first Stanley Cup Playoff start and avoid elimination when the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Confere…

Thatcher Demko made 42 saves to become the 15th goalie in NHL history, and second in two nights, to win his first Stanley Cup Playoff start and avoid elimination when the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tuesday.Michael Hutchinson did the same for the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 against the Dallas Stars on Monday, making 31 saves in a 6-3 victory.
Prior to Hutchinson, it had not happened since Pascal Leclaire and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in triple overtime in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on April 22, 2010. Leclaire and Ottawa lost 4-3 in overtime in Game 7.
Jacob Markstrom, who started the first 14 postseason games for the Canucks, was unfit to play. As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.
“I found out a little bit later last night, gave [Markstrom] some time to see how he was feeling,” Demko said. “You never know when you have to go in, I just wanted to stay sharp through the whole process of training camp and getting into the bubble. I had to go in today, just wanted to be ready to help out.”
Canucks coach Travis Green did not have an update on Markstrom. He said Demko’s preparation throughout the postseason had him ready to step in for Markstrom.
“That’s part of being a guy who’s the backup goalie,” Green said. “He’s also a young goalie in the League, but he knows any given time, he can go in the net. I said that earlier, he’s a good pro, he takes the job seriously. He understands when he gets in, what’s to be expected.
“Give him a lot of credit. That’s not an easy spot to go into, especially against a team like that. They shoot a lot of pucks to the net, they’re a good hockey team, and he stood tall.”
Video: VAN@VGK, Gm5: Demko stops 42 shots in Game 5 victory
Game 6 of the best-of-7 series is in Edmonton, the West hub city, on Thursday (9:45 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
“You don’t know what the circumstances will be,” Demko said. “But definitely nice to get a game under my belt. If I do get back in, have a comfort level, I had some work tonight. Will do some video, clean some things up, and try to do it again if I get the call.”
Demko made the save on the five shots he faced in 8:26 of relief in his NHL playoff debut in Game 1 against Vegas on Aug. 23, a 5-0 loss, after Markstrom allowed five goals on 34 shots. The 24-year-old rookie was 13-10-2 with a 3.06 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 27 regular-season games but had not started a game since March 10, two days before the NHL paused the season due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
“He’s an unbelievable goalie, really athletic, and he’s a gamer,” said forward Brock Boeser, who scored Vancouver’s first goal. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that he came in and played so well tonight for us.”
Markstrom is 8-6 with a 2.85 GAA, a .919 save percentage and one shutout in the postseason. He has faced an NHL-high 491 shots, including 141 against the Golden Knights.
“[Markstom has] played so well. He’s our guy,” Green said. “… He’s been a big part of why we’re still playing, and again, happy for [Demko] that he stepped in tonight. He gave us a phenomenal game. I’m happy for him and proud of him.”
Markstrom can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. The 30-year-old was selected to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time this season, and his .918 save percentage, a career high for a full NHL season, was fourth among goalies to play at least 40 games behind Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins (.929), Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (.922) and Ben Bishop of the Dallas Stars (.920).
Markstrom missed the final eight games before the season was paused because of a knee injury but said in April he was fully healthy. Vancouver went 3-5-0 in those eight games.
Louis Domingue backed up Demko. Domingue played one game for Vancouver, on March 1, after being acquired in a trade from the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 24.
Robin Lehner was back in net for Vegas after Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in a 5-3 win in Game 4 on Sunday, the second of a back-to-back. Lehner, who has started six of the past seven games, allowed two goals on 17 shots in the loss.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report