Canucks Morning Skate Updates: Demko To Start vs. Blues, Miller Returns To Practice

Tuesday’s Canucks morning skate prior to a matchup against the St. Louis Blues saw the return of a couple of familiar faces.

Thatcher Demko was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate today, indicating that he’ll be starting against Jordan Binnington and the Blues. This was later confirmed by Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet post-morning skate.

“There’s a bunch of factors,” he said of navigating Demko’s return. “You want him to feel comfortable, you want to communicate with him.”

An AHL conditioning stint could have been in the cards for Demko, but after some deliberation, Tocchet and the coaching staff figured that he was ready. “This is the best way to do it,” he explained. “Let him go out there and do his thing.”

While Demko was activated off the injury reserves on Friday, tonight will be his first start since game 1 of the Canucks’ first round playoff series against the Nashville Predators on April 21. Prior to that, Demko had spent over a month out of the lineup due to injury.

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For the first time since taking a personal leave on November 19, J.T. Miller has returned to the Canucks. While he won’t be skating in tonight’s game against St. Louis, seeing him back with the team is a good indicator that he’ll slot back into the lineup in the near future.

“I know he's going to practice with the full team tomorrow," Tocchet said. "We'll get him with a line and get him cooking, and then we'll go from there."

Before his departure from the team, Miller had six goals and 10 assists in 17 games played. He led the team in points last season with 37 goals and 66 assists. It was the first time Miller has hit triple digits in points in his career.

Tocchet noted that there's a "very good possibility" that Miller plays on Thursday night, when the Canucks take on the Florida Panthers.