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If Rick Tocchet knows who his starting goalie will be in Game 5, the Vancouver Canucks head coach wasn’t letting anyone know this morning. Back in Vancouver after two straight wins in Nashville, Tocchet kept his team off the ice today, but spoke to the media at Rogers Arena.
“It goes by hour. We’ll see how Casey is today. We’re not making a decision at this moment,” Tocchet said.
The Canucks are in an unusual situation, to say the least. They lead the series against the Predators 3-1, with three different starting goalies picking up the wins. Casey DeSmith played two games in Thatcher Demko’s absence, before giving way to 23-year-old rookie Arturs Silovs in Game 4 due to injury.
And now there’s a decision to make.
DeSmith’s injury is reportedly minor, and he could play on Tuesday. The veteran netminder is coming off a 29-save performance when he allowed just one goal against in Game 3. But after Silovs stopped 30 of 33 shots he faced on Sunday, the 6-foot-4 Latvian could be the preferable choice.
“That’s a good question,” Tocchet said in response to a question about who he would start if DeSmith is 100% healthy tomorrow. “I don’t think anybody’s ever 100%. We’ll see how close we get him to 100% before I make that decision, but nobody’s ever 100% in the playoffs.”
Tocchet confirmed that DeSmith’s injury occurred during Game 3, which is notable because he was able to practice the following day.
While it’s still anybody’s guess as to who will start Game 5, what is clear is that Tocchet has been impressed by Silovs’ calm demeanour.
“Time to shine, you know?”
– #Canucks G4 winning goaltender Artūrs Šilovs on getting the word that he was going to start a #StanleyCup Playoff gameVancouver took a 3-1 series lead, beating the #Preds in OT tonight, 4-3. pic.twitter.com/wQOYc8nAnH
— Jeremy K. Gover (@ItsGovertime) April 29, 2024
“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 said. “He’s just ready… You heard him, he said ‘ready to shine.’ That was kind of fun to hear him say that.”