It was a whirlwind day for Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko.

Nearly eight months after he was injured in the first game of Vancouver鈥檚 playoff run, Demko returned to the crease Tuesday for his first start of the season.

鈥淚鈥檝e talked about managing expectations and not putting too much weight on that first game back, but obviously, as the moment builds, you鈥檙e excited to play and you want to perform,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o definitely a little bit of a weird day just getting back into the room and things.鈥�

Demko stopped 21 of the 25 shots he faced as the Canucks fell 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues in overtime.

鈥淚 thought he was good tonight. It鈥檚 good to see him in net,鈥� said Rick Tocchet, Vancouver鈥檚 head coach. 鈥淗e looks big. I love seeing him back in. He鈥檚 worked really hard, so I thought he did a great job for us tonight.鈥�

The result was a difficult one for the all-star netminder.

鈥淔elt rusty for sure,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought I could have played a couple of goals differently. I鈥檓 sure that there鈥檚 stuff that I can pull to keep building. But obviously it鈥檚 frustrating right now.鈥�

Demko backstopped the Canucks (14-8-5) to a playoff run last season. He posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 save percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts in regular-season action and played in the all-star game for the second time in his career.

Then, on April 24, he injured the popliteus muscle in his left knee during Vancouver鈥檚 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series.

The 28-year-old goalie from San Diego, Cali., has been working his way back from the rare injury ever since.

Demko admitted the ailment was in the back of his mind on Tuesday.

鈥淥bviously, I was out for a long time. You have anxiety about things like that,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd, admittedly, there鈥檚 a couple of times during the game where I鈥檓 thinking about it a little bit, just to kind of work through those things. And that鈥檚 just part of the mentality of the game day and just building that confidence back up.鈥�

Having Demko back in the crease is 鈥渁 big add,鈥� said Canucks winger Conor Garland, calling his teammate 鈥渁 top goalie in the world.鈥�

The team should have performed better in front of Demko, he added.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to give a guy four or five breakaways or odd-man rushes. So it鈥檚 not very good,鈥� Garland said. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 a battler, hangs in there, makes big saves. That鈥檚 why he鈥檚 the greatest.鈥�