Arturs Silovs expected to start for Canucks in Game 5
According to reports, goaltender Arturs Silovs is expected to start for the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 on Tuesday.
Arturs Silovs is off first and is your projected #Canucks starter Tuesday vs. Predators.
DeSmith left almost immediately thereafter.
The Canucks have used three goaltenders in their first-round series against the Nashville Predators.
After Thatcher Demko was injured in the Game 1 win, Canucks’ backup Casey DeSmith went 1-1 in Games 2 and 3. But DeSmith was ruled out for Game 4 with an injury, and in came 23-year-old Arturs Silovs.
Silovs made 30 saves on 33 shots in his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game, a dramatic 4-3 comeback overtime win that gives the Canucks to ability to clinch the series at home in Game 5.
DeSmith is the far more seasoned goalie in the regular season, but made only his third career playoff start in Game 3. Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet said this about DeSmith’s availability for Game 5:
“That’s a good question,” Tocchet said Monday. “We’ll see how close we get him to 100 percent before I make that decision, but nobody’s ever 100 percent in the playoffs.”
If Silovs starts, it will be only his 11th career NHL game. He is 6-1-2 with a .898 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average in nine regular-season games.
The Latvia native went 16-11-6 with a .907 save percentage and 2.74 goals-against average in 34 American Hockey League games with Abbotsford this season.
“He’s a quiet kid, but he’s got some swagger in him,” Tocchet said. “It’s hard to explain. He’s just ready. You heard him [after Game 4], he said ‘ready to shine.’ That was kind of fun to hear him say that. … Even when I told [him Saturday] ‘you’re going to play,’ I didn’t see that much nervousness.”
24-year-old Nikita Tolopilo backed up Silovs in Game 4.
Vancouver leads the series 3-1 and can advance to the second round with a win on Tuesday.