Silovs starts instead of DeSmith for Canucks in Game 5 tonight: report
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With a chance to win a playoff series on home ice for the first time in 13 years, the Vancouver Canucks will be turning to their rookie goaltender tonight.
Arturs Silovs is getting the start in net, according to a report from Canucks insider Irfaan Gaffar. Others have since confirmed the report.
Sounds like Artus Silovs will start game five for the Canucks.
— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) April 30, 2024
It’ll be the second straight start for the 6-foot-4 Latvian after he picked up the win Sunday in Nashville. Casey DeSmith sat out last game due to a minor injury.
It’s unclear if this move is simply a case of the Canucks choosing Silovs over DeSmith because he’s healthier or if the team thinks the rookie gives them a better chance to win.
Silovs, who had only nine games of NHL experience prior to Sunday, stopped 30 of 33 shots he faced in Game 4. DeSmith, meanwhile, stopped 30 of 31 shots in Game 3.
What is clear is that Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has a lot of faith in Silovs, who played most of the season with Abbotsford in the AHL.
“He’s a quiet kid, but he’s got some swagger in him. I don’t know, it’s just the way he is… It’s hard to explain,” Tocchet told reporters on Monday. “He’s just ready.”
On Sunday, Silovs was asked what his reaction was when he was told he’d get his first career Stanley Cup playoff start.
“It was great,” he said with a smile. “Time to shine, you know?”
Tocchet loved that quote.
“You heard him,” said Tocchet. “That was kind of fun to hear him say that.”
The Canucks lead the series 3-1 and are looking for their first series win since they knocked off the St. Louis Blues in 2020. Vancouver hasn’t clinched a series at Rogers Arena since 2011, when Kevin Bieksa sent them to the Stanley Cup Final.