The Canucks have been on a roll in the month of February, but concerns still remain over the status of captain Quinn Hughes and star netminder Thatcher Demko.

After Thatcher Demko pulled himself off the ice just 10 minutes into the first period on Saturday, his coach wanted to make one thing crystal clear to the media.

“It’s not his knee,” said Rick Tocchet after the Vancouver Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 at Rogers Arena.

After Thatcher Demko pulled himself off the ice just 10 minutes into the first period on Saturday, his coach wanted to make one thing crystal clear to the media.

“It’s not his knee,” said Rick Tocchet after the Vancouver Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 at Rogers Arena.

That knee, of course, knocked the Canucks’ Vezina-caliber goaltender out of the lineup for a month last spring. Then, it took him out of the playoffs after just one game, and kept him off the ice until December.

After Demko’s departure on Saturday, Kevin Lankinen stepped in and looked sharp once again, making 21 saves. He has been a steadying force all year on a team that has been through more than its fair share of turmoil.

But Demko was injury-prone even in the years before we learned all about his popliteus muscle. And after everything that he has already been through, each new absence sets pulses racing in Canuck Nation.

“It was just something that happened during the game,” Tocchet said about this latest setback. “I don’t think it’s that serious. But we’ll see.”

Fans might be more understanding if they saw Demko writhing in pain in his crease before being assisted off the ice. But that’s not his style. When he senses that something is amiss, he slips away during an intermission or a TV timeout, before anyone is any wiser.

In early January, Demko missed about a week of action due to back spasms after he pulled himself midway through a road win in Seattle. With any luck, the timeline for this latest issue is similar.

With the 4 Nations Face-Off set to get underway in Montreal on Wednesday, the Canucks players who aren’t in the tournament will get two weeks off before their next game on Feb. 22, when they’ll kick off a five-game road trip in Vegas.

They’ll need two healthy goalies immediately. Four of those five games are in back-to-back sets.

Definitely participating in the 4 Nations: Elias Pettersson for Sweden, and Lankinen for Finland. Tocchet will also serve as an assistant to Jon Cooper with Team Canada.

As for the status of Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, Tocchet said it would be decided on Saturday night or Sunday whether he’d take his spot on the U.S. blueline, or continue his rest and rehab.

It’s easy to understand Hughes’ dilemma, even though only he and his medical team can properly assess whether he’s fit to play.

As one of the first six players named to what’s arguably the strongest 4 Nations roster on paper, it’s not just a chance to play for his country. It’s also a golden opportunity to win a best-on-best tournament, bask in the recognition that he doesn’t always receive when toiling on Canada’s west coast, and play with his brother Jack and close friends Brady and Matthew Tkachuk.

On the other hand, Hughes has logged an enormous workload this year. He’s averaging 25:18 per game and right around the 90th percentile in total miles skated this season according to NHL Edge. Earlier in the year, he spent a few weeks wearing a fishbowl after taking a high stick to the face, and he has been wearing a brace on his hand ever since he missed four games just after Christmas.

It’s hard to pull the reins back on a 25-year-old who lives, eats and breathes hockey. But rather than throw himself into another high-intensity competition, it might be prudent to let all those bumps and bruises heal so Hughes can come back strong for the Canucks’ stretch run.

Yes. The Canucks are back in a playoff spot.

They’re 3-0-1 since Hughes was sidelined, and have outscored their opponents 9-5. And the team was trending in a positive direction even before

After Filip Hronek returned from his 21-game injury absence on Jan. 14, the Canucks lost four out of five games. But since then, they’ve gone 6-1-1, giving up just 14 goals over those eight games.

“Being out two months, he was a little rusty those three, four games. But I think he’s getting some really good traction,” Tocchet said. “I think this is where Fil really comes alive. You can play him 25 minutes and he doesn’t get tired out there.”

Over those eight games since Jan. 25, Hronek is 11th in the league in total ice time, playing in all situations. He also has a goal and six assists in those eight games, despite being known primarily for his defensive work.

Hronek’s biggest offensive contributions came against the toughest teams — two assists in Vancouver’s 2-1 home win over the Washington Capitals, two more assists in the 3-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche and a goal and an assist to go along with first-star honors in Saturday’s win over the Maple Leafs.

Notoriously media-shy, Hronek’s dominance even led to a rare post-game scrum after Saturday’s game.

“It looks like we played confident, but it also would be nice to have Quinn back,” he said humbly — perhaps also thinking that his captain would be the one standing in front of the reporters if he was back in the lineup.

Since Jan. 25, no NHL team has picked up more points than the Canucks. They’ve built this run primarily off a league-low 1.75 goals allowed per game and top-five special teams.

That’s the kind of formula that can work in the playoffs. And while they’re back on the right side of the cut line, all the Canucks have done so far is earn themselves a first-round matchup with the seemingly unbeatable Winnipeg Jets, who are rolling into the break on an eight-game winning streak.

Now that the wins are finally coming, is Tocchet concerned that the break might halt his team’s momentum?

“Part of me wants it to keep going,” he said. But I do think his team needs a little bit of a reset.”