The Vancouver Canucks have returned home, gearing up for what could be a playoff round wrap-up at Rogers Arena against the Nashville Predators Tuesday.
The Canucks are currently up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. If they win Tuesday night, they’ll move on to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If not, they’ll go to Game 6 back at Bridgestone Arena in Music City.
Sportsnet 650 host Satiar Shah says Elias Pettersson, who has been quiet so far, has to step up and find his game for this team to be successful down the road.
“I have belief in the player long-term. In the moment, is it going to turn? Is it as simple as get a goal and the next thing you know he’s going to get red-hot? Maybe the fact that you’re up 3-1 against Nashville and if you take care of business it buys you some more time for that to happen?” he asked his Canucks Central co-host Dan Riccio Monday.
The Canucks pulled off a spectacular comeback during Game 4 in Nashville. The team had been down by two but tied up the scoring thanks to a pair of goals from right winger Brock Boeser, who picked up a hat trick.
Elias Lindholm scored the game-winner, just 62 seconds into overtime.
A big question that remains going into Game 5 is who will be in net for the Canucks. Starting goalie Thatcher Demko has been out since an injury in Game 1 of the series. He was backed up by Casey DeSmith, who also suffered an injury during the opening round of the playoffs.
Arturs Silovs, the Canucks’ third-string goalie, played his first-career playoff game on Sunday — and helped pick up that massive win, making 27 of 30 stops.
Put into an unbelievable situation, Silovs came out unscathed. But if you ask his coach and teammates, none of this should come as a surprise.
“He’s a gamer,” Canucks forward Conor Garland said. “He’s calm, you couldn’t even tell it was his first game. Really excited for him, played well. I saw him this summer, he killed us at Worlds. I saw how talented he was, how agile. He’s an athlete — you see it when he’s in net, he just competes. He’s fun to play for.”
Silovs was informed he would be starting the pivotal Game 4 on Saturday when the Canucks decided to be extra cautious dealing with a minor injury to DeSmith. In the regular season, Silovs started just four games for the Canucks and had three wins under his belt.
No matter, though, for the young Latvian goaltender, who told Head Coach Rick Tocchet that he was “ready to shine” in Game 4.
“He’s a quiet kid, but he’s got some swagger to him,” Tocchet said. “He’s just ready.”
It’s a strange situation for the Canucks between the pipes, having started three different goaltenders across four games in the series. They’ve all found success, though, and the bench boss attributes that to a “next man up” mentality the team has shown throughout the season.
“It’s bizarre, but, you know, when we were going with Arty, and the guys heard it… I don’t see anybody walking away going ‘Oh my god, what’s going on around here?’” Tocchet said of the Canucks’ goaltending situation. “I just think, OK. Let’s go.
“[GM Patrik Allvin’s] big thing, when I signed here, he has a big ‘next man up’ mentality. That’s one of his big mantras. He doesn’t want to hear, ‘Oh poor us’. He hates that. When we told him we were going with Arty, he was like ‘OK. Where are we going for dinner?’ When your general manager says that to your coach, it really gives you confidence.”
Tocchet wouldn’t confirm who would start Game 5.