Canucks are making a goaltending change tonight
The Vancouver Canucks will turn to Arturs Silovs between the pipes for tonight’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks, head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed this morning.
Though Silovs was the Canucks’ opening night starter to kick off the 2024-25 season, he was quickly relegated to second string behind Kevin Lankinen following a few ugly performances. Tonight will mark just his third start of the season and his first appearance since coming in for relief of Lankinen in a game against the Edmonton Oilers exactly one week ago.
“I’d like us to not have odd man rushes against him, especially early,” Tocchet said in regards to Silovs. “I don’t care who you are, the last thing you want is your goalie facing a three-on-two the first five minutes into the game. Let him settle into the game. He’s played some pressure games for us, and I want him to enjoy himself, too.”
Silovs has allowed a combined 15 goals on just 74 shots this season, giving him an ugly 4.77 GAA, a .808 save percentage (SV%), and a 0-2-1 record. Despite being signed to a two-year, $1.7 million extension this offseason, this feels like it could be one of his final opportunities to prove himself, with Thatcher Demko inching closer and closer to a return.
If there is a game for Silovs to get back on track, it’s this one, as he’s going up against a Blackhawks team that sits 30th in the league when it comes to goals per game, averaging just 2.41 through their first 17 games. While they do boast arguably the game’s best young talent in Connor Bedard, he’s gotten off to somewhat of a quiet start with 13 points thus far.
Should Silovs perform well tonight, he could start to earn starts a bit more regularly, as Lankinen has hit a bit of a rut as of late. Though he rebounded well versus the Calgary Flames after being torched by the Oilers, he had a somewhat subpar night against the New York Islanders on Thursday, allowing four goals on 31 shots.
The one other change Tocchet mentioned is that Noah Juulsen will be drawing in on the back end. The 27-year-old has appeared in just four games this season, with his last coming in last Saturday’s blowout loss against the Oilers. He’ll be coming in for Vincent Desharnais, who logged just 13:04 of ice time in Thursday’s loss to the Islanders.
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