from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

With the ghost of Bill LaForge looming over the Vancouver Canucks, goalie Thatcher Demko channelled a far less ghoulish apparition and played like Dominik Hasek.

In a stunning sequence late in Tuesday’s third period with the Canucks playing two men short and trying to avoid being the first Vancouver team since 1984 to lose its first four home games in regulation, Demko made a “scorpion” save, raising his heel while lying flat on his stomach to rob Artemi Panarin of a game-winning goal.

To follow this, Demko made another pad save on the New York Rangers’ superstar with literally one hand behind his back, as the goalie was not only without a stick but his blocker glove as well.

Demko’s retro freestyle got the desperate Canucks to overtime so J.T. Miller, who was trying to play goal behind Demko when Panarin was trying to win it for the Rangers with three minutes left in regulation, collected the puck after he was stopped on a breakaway by Igor Shesterkin, then wrapped it into an open net to give Vancouver a 3-2 win and end their home losing streak (and crisis) at three games.

But it’s even better than that: the Canucks trailed 2-0 going into the third period and, after scoring only four times in 220 minutes at Rogers Arena this season, tied the game on goals less than four minutes apart by Miller and rookie Vasily Podkolzin, both of them set up beautifully by sparkplug Conor Garland.

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Below, watch the Demko save and the game highlights.