The Vancouver Canucks and their fans continue to wait for the highly anticipated return of star netminder Thatcher Demko as he works his way back from two knee injuries suffered last season - one late in the regular season and the other in Game 1 of Round 1 against the Nashville Predators.
It's not really known as to what Demko's specific injury is, although Kevin Woodley of NHL.com shared some info on it back in September, saying that he's heard it has to do with his Popliteus, a triangle-shaped muscle behind the back of the knee that's attached to the femur and tibia.
During Tuesday's edition of Donnie & Dhali, NHL insider Rick Dhaliwal provided a bit of an update regarding Thatcher Demko on how he's progressing and when Vancouver Canucks fans could see him return.
There was some thought that Thatcher Demko could be able to return as soon as the latter stages of their current road trip, potentially even for Tuesday's game in Minnesota against the Wild, but that won't be the case.
Dhaliwal said on Tuesday that because Vancouver's schedule on the road was so compact and they didn't have many practices, Demko will still need a little bit of time before returning.
He did have some good news though, saying that fans should see Thatcher Demko at some point during the homestand.
The Vancouver Canucks will return from their homestand on Friday night to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, with puck drop for that match-up set for 7 pm PT.
During their homestand, the Canucks will face Tampa Bay (Dec. 8th), St. Louis (Dec. 10th), Florida (Dec. 12th), Boston (Dec. 14th) and Colorado (Dec. 16th).
The good news however is that the Vancouver Canucks are very confident with Kevin Lankinen between the pipes, who looks to extend his NHL record to 11 road wins to start the season tonight in Minnesota.