Arturs Silovs probably didn’t anticipate sitting as long as he has with Thatcher Demko injured for the Vancouver Canucks to start this season.
Vancouver’s opening-night starter will go more than two weeks in between starts, as Kevin Lankinen will be between the pipes again tonight when the Canucks host the Carolina Hurricanes.
It’s hard to argue with the move, as Lankinen has won four straight games. The 29-year-old Finnish netminder has a sparkling .930 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average so far, putting him near the top of the NHL in those categories after five starts.
Silovs, meanwhile, is still searching for his first win. After a rough first start against the Calgary Flames, the 23-year-old was better against the Tampa Bay Lightning — but still allowed three goals on 26 shots in a 4-1 loss.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet isn’t ready to give up on Silovs though.
“We’re getting Arty in here, whether it’s next game or whenever,” Tocchet told reporters at Rogers Arena Monday morning. “We gotta get him in. He deserves it. I thought his last start was pretty good. He wasn’t that bad. He’s done enough for us to know that he can be really good goalie for us. I don’t want to sit him on the bench too much longer, even though Lanks is on a roll.”
The Canucks don’t play back-to-back nights until November 16 and 17, so there isn’t an obvious start lined up for Silovs. They play the New Jersey Devils at home on Wednesday before a three-game California road trip with games in San Jose (November 2), Anaheim (November 5), and Los Angeles (November 7).
It remains to be seen how long Demko will be out of the lineup and the latest reports were that he didn’t look close. Unless Silovs wrestles away more starts from Lankinen before Demko returns, it could mean a demotion to the AHL for the waivers-exempt Latvian.
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