The Vancouver Canucks have lost two more goaltenders, as Spencer Martin and Arturs Silovs are both in COVID-19 protocol. Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak are already in it, too, so this is very troubling for the Canucks.
For Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, the Canucks will have Michael DiPietro start. However, they also are out of goalies after him and are expected to have Rylan Toth of the University of British Columbia to be their emergency backup goalie. Yes, we have another EBUG on the way!
DiPietro will be making his first appearance at the NHL level since the 2019-20 campaign. In two games with Vancouver in total, he has an 0-1-0 record, 7.02 goals-against average, and .742 save percentage. Yes, the 22-year-old has struggled mightily in the NHL, but now is his chance to redeem himself. In 13 games this season with the Abbotsford Canucks, he has an .896 save percentage and 3.19 goals-against average.
As for Toth, this should be an outstanding experience for him. Although it is very unlikely he will get into any action during the contest, it should be fun for him to have the chance to join the team during an NHL game.
Photo Credit: © Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
