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A number of studies say rookie goalie Arturs Silovs shall be in internet for the Vancouver Canucks after they face the Nashville Predators in Recreation 4 of their first-round playoff sequence at the moment.
The 23-year-old Latvian shall be backed up by 24-year-old Belarusian netminder Nikita Tolopilo, who has by no means performed an NHL recreation.
Silovs is the third goalie to play for the Canucks within the best-of-seven sequence, and has spent a lot of the season with Vancouver’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
All-star netminder Thatcher Demko backstopped Vancouver to a win in Recreation 1 however has since been sidelined by an undisclosed damage, and is taken into account week to week.
Backup Casey DeSmith took over for Video games 2 and three, going 1-1-0 within the two contests with a 2.02 goals-against common and a .911 save share.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet declined to say at a pre-game availability whether or not DeSmith would begin, saying solely that there have been some game-time choices to be made.
What saved DeSmith out of Recreation 4 stays unclear.
The goalie was hit by Nashville’s Michael McCarron 12:28 into the primary interval in Recreation 3, drawing a goalie interference penalty the place Vancouver scored its first objective of the evening.
DeSmith didn’t seem like injured on the play and completed the sport. He was additionally a full participant within the Canucks’ observe Saturday.
Silovs received a stretch of play with the NHL group again on the finish of March and starting of April. He went 3-0-1 with a 2.47 goals-against common and a .881 save share.
In Abbotsford, the six-foot-four, 203-pound goaltender posted a 16-11-6 document with a 2.74 GAA, a .907 save share and 4 shutouts.
Silovs is not any stranger to high-pressure conditions after backstopping Latvia to bronze — the nation’s first medal — on the males’s hockey world championships final Might. He was named MVP of the event.
Tolopilo — a six-foot-six, 229-pound goalie who signed with the Canucks in March 2013 — went 20-13-1 in AHL play this season, placing up a 2.83 GAA and a .905 save share.
By Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed April 28, 2024.
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