Canucks Notebook: Silovs’ calm demeanour a by-product of world championship run

VANCOUVER – At 23, and in just his eighth National Hockey League start, goalie Arturs Silovs on Monday played his biggest game in front of the loudest crowd he has heard since coming to North America from Latvia as a teenager.

But Silovs has played bigger games, in even louder buildings, than he did while helping the Vancouver Canucks rally to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 at Rogers Arena.

Silovs was the MVP last May at the International Ice Hockey Federation world championship, where he helped Latvia win its first-ever medal. He was in goal when his country upset Sweden in the quarter-finals on home ice in Riga, then beat the Americans in overtime in the bronze-medal game in Finland.

“Probably the biggest hockey moment that I can remember in Latvia in my lifetime,” Canuck centre and fellow Latvian Teddy Blueger said. “The world championship means a lot. That’s our Stanley Cup back home. I think everyone looks forward to it every year, especially fans in the home country. And everyone is watching every game, so it’s a huge deal.”

Silovs was a huge deal, a national hero after taking over the Latvian net in the first period of the first game and being named the top player in the tournament.

When Canuck coach Rick Tocchet talks about Silovs’ demeanour and how calm he is on the ice, he is referring to by-products of the six-foot-four goalie’s dream tournament.

“I think I feel just, like, more confidence, more calmness in the game,” Silovs told Sportsnet Tuesday about his world championship experience. “Especially when you play at home (at a world championship), there’s so much expectations. But support is great, too; every single save you make is like a standing ovation. Now, especially in pressure games. . . those are important moments to be good, to be calm.”

During a 2-1 win last Wednesday in Arizona, Silovs made a handful of key third-period saves before Conor Garland scored a late winner.

Silovs was even more impressive on Monday. Against the Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights, he was beaten on the first two shots he faced, including a Jack Eichel wrister that rattled through the goalkeeper just 1:51 after the opening faceoff. But rather than buckle, Silovs stopped 20 of the final 21 Vegas shots as the Canucks overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to beat a playoff contender for the first time in a month.

“Obviously, letting in the two first shots is tough for anyone, mentally,” Silovs said. “But you try, like, to put yourself together because the game’s not over. There’s plenty of game ahead and you try to shut the door.”

Tocchet said after Tuesday’s practice that Silovs, now 3-0 since he was recalled from the American Hockey League due to Thatcher Demko’s knee injury, may start again Wednesday when the Coyotes visit Vancouver. The coach said he told Silovs after Monday’s game that he was proud of him.

“The two quick goals at that stage against the Stanley Cup champs. . . ” Tocchet explained to reporters. “It’s a pressure game, and the way he stood tall, he didn’t sink. I don’t think the stage is too big for the kid.

“I mean, listen, it’s three games. But I just like his demeanour right now. I like the way he’s playing. He’s a confident kid. And that doesn’t mean Casey’s not confident, too, because he’s played a lot of important games for us, too. So it’s a good problem to have.”

Veteran backup Casey DeSmith was excellent initially as Demko’s replacement, starting seven straight games and allowing more than two goals only twice. But in his last two starts, big losses in big games against the Knights and the Los Angeles Kings, DeSmith allowed 12 goals on 59 shots.

Canuck management will make a decision after this season whether DeSmith or Silovs should partner with Demko next year.

A sixth-round draft pick in 2019, Silovs was so far down Vancouver’s organizational depth chart that during the 2020-21 pandemic season, he played only one minor-league game as a rookie professional – on loan to the Manitoba Moose.

He spent half of the next season in the East Coast League but now, two years later, has become one of the Canucks’ best prospects.

Coincidentally, DeSmith was in the Team USA net opposite Silovs when Latvia won 4-3 in overtime in Tampere. The victory party in Riga went on for days. Silovs’ NHL party may just be starting.

PRACTICE? WHAT PRACTICE?

After a few on-ice sessions with goaltending coach Ian Clark, Demko practised with the Canucks on Tuesday for the first time since spraining his knee during a 5-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

Demko monopolized one net while DeSmith and Silovs mostly shared the other, and looked good in all his movements before leaving the ice five minutes ahead of defenceman Tyler Myers, the first skater off. Despite participating for 27 of the 32-minute practice, the goalie was not made available to the media – as mandated by the NHL – because Canuck officials interpreted the session as not a full practice for Demko, who remains on long-term injured reserve.

It is obvious, however, that the star goalie is close to returning with just four regular-season games remaining.

“A good, full practice for him with some limitations,” Tocchet described Demko’s day. “So it was good. I mean, anything’s possible, but we’re just really going in, you know, day to day. We had a good day today; we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

With Silovs under consideration for Wednesday’s start, it seems the Canucks’ Pacific Division showdown Saturday in Edmonton against the Oilers could be the stage for Demko’s return.

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Canuck core players Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser were given “maintenance days” on Tuesday, and Tocchet indicated that if the standings allow it, some or all could also be scratched for a game to preserve health and energy ahead of the playoffs.

The Canucks lead the Oilers by five points, although Edmonton has played two fewer games.

QUOTEBOOK

Tocchet on winning the division, which the Canucks have led since Dec. 21: “I think we’ve gone this far, why not go get it? But I don’t think it’s the end of the world either way. I’m not trying to take pressure off our team by saying that. (But) we’ve worked hard to get this position, why would you not work even harder to get it? I think it’s important that we try to get it.”

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