Canucks get some awful news on goalie Thatcher Demko

This just in, TSN reporter Farhan Lalji is reporting that Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko will be out of the team's lineup for 2-3 weeks with a knee injury.

From Lalji on Twitter:

Demko left Saturday evening's victory over the Winnipeg Jets with an undisclosed injury, but fans were suspecting a groin strain based on Demko's play during the game. 

Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal had more to say on Demko's injury earlier today on the Donnie & Dhali show.

Check it out:

"Early reports are that he's gonna miss a few games. I'm also hearing that it's a best case scenario for the Canucks. He will likely miss less than a month. The good news is it's not the groin, everyone on Saturday... were suggesting it's a groin injury. It doesn't look like it's an injury from his past. He's going to miss a few games, likely less than a month, they'll call up a goalie. The Canucks are hoping it's less than a month."

- Rick Dhaliwal

The Canucks will now turn to back up Casey DeSmith in Demko's absence and they're expected to call up youngster Arturs Silovs from the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks. The 22 year old Silovs has been one of the best young goalies in the AHL the past two seasons and is seen as a part of the Canucks' future in goal. He'll be given an opportunity to prove himself at the NHL level over the next few weeks, albeit with DeSmith getting the lion's share of the crease if things play out as expected.

As for Demko, he has undergone two hip surgeries in his NHL career but this is his first knee injury, I believe. Last season when he missed three months of action with a hip injury, the Canucks' season was absolutely nuked. The team fell in the standings and couldn't claw their way back into things. This time around the Canucks have a significant cushion and will only need to weather the storm in Demko's absence.