November 28th, 2024
JC Clemas
Back in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Arty Party was as fun as that laser tag birthday party you’d have as a child. Celebratory, fun, and just an all-around euphoric experience leaving you entertained, but craving more.
Through Artūrs Šilovs’ first 6 starts of this season, the Arty Party has been about as fun as a family reunion. Awkward, uncomfortable, and making you check the clock constantly to see how much time is left in your struggle.
The 23-year-old Latvian had a lot of expectations on him coming into the season. With Thatcher Demko out for an undisclosed amount of time, he had the knowledge that he could battle Kevin Lankinen for the starting role in Demko’s absence. Šilovs was granted a head start in the battle as well, being given the crease for the Canucks’ season opener against Calgary. The Canucks got off to an early 4-1 lead, but as we all know, squandered it and eventually lost 6-5 in overtime. Šilovs was in net for all 6 goals against, and Lankinen was subsequently given the crease for the next game, where he held his own despite an unfortunate loss. Šilovs didn’t have to wait too long to get his next start, as he was back in net for the first road game of the season. He wasn’t terrible, but after saving 23 of 26, he was handed another loss by the Lightning. The biggest problem? His .885 save percentage in this game is the 2nd highest he’s posted so far in his 6 starts. Šilovs gave up another 6 goals on 22 shots against the Devils, 4 goals on 33 shots against the Rangers, and most recently, 5 goals on 23 shots against the Penguins. His one victory of the season came on November 16th, where he saved 28 of 29 shots. A performance so solid, I’m willing to pretend it wasn’t against the 2024 Chicago Blackhawks.
Though the alarms were already sounding on Šilovs before, the loss against Pittsburgh last night really confirms the doubts about him so far this season. He eventually settled into the game and gave the Canucks a chance to come back, but as I noted, settling in doesn’t mean much when you’ve already given up 5 goals. He may have given them a chance to come back in the 3rd period, but in the game as a whole, he didn’t give the Canucks a chance to win. He is evidently not ready for NHL hockey at this point in his career. His .847 save percentage is 2nd last in the entire league of any goaltender who has played more than 3 games (only Cayden Primeau is lower). His 4.11 goals against average is the 4th worst of that group (Johansson, Primeau, Jarry). As for goals saved above expected, his -9.0 ranks 3rd last in the league (by moneypuck.com’s model). The only goaltenders who are worse than him in that regard are Connor Ingram and Stuart Skinner, both of whom have played double the amount of games of Šilovs so far. If you look at the names of the goaltenders I’ve mentioned in these statistics, you will find a lot of guys you don’t want to see Šilovs have comparable numbers to.
So, what’s been the problem for the goaltender this season? For one, he’s played pretty much every game cold. He’s been going a couple of weeks between starts at points, and it’s difficult for a goalie to get into a rhythm when that’s going on. I also don’t think he’s been tracking the puck too well. Teams have discovered that long shots are a weakness for Šilovs, and they’re exploiting it. Along those same lines, he’s been slow to react when the puck is coming towards him. Yesterday, the second Rust goal was specifically one that no NHL goaltender should be allowing. It was an unscreened wrister from the top of the hash marks that actually made me giggle when I saw it hit twine. While it is true that the Canucks have hung him out to dry on a couple of the goals against this season, he’s also just clearly not making enough saves (see his GSAx again). His positioning was an issue on the first Rust goal, as he overcommitted to Crosby and gave the Penguins’ winger the entire net to shoot at. Goals like that make me wonder if he’s overthinking his play right now, and I think that assuming the role of AHL starter soon will be a big help for him to get back to his game.
In his one AHL start this season, Šilovs was able to save 23 of 25 and help Abbotsford to victory. With Demko hopefully returning in the next week or so, Šilovs will get to head down there, get many more starts than he’s getting in Vancouver, and continue to grow as a goalie. Currently, Šilovs looks like a Matt Murray type of goalie: a young goalie who’s built for the big moments. His performance helped Latvia to bronze at the 2023 World Championships and his display in the NHL playoffs are proof of this. I desperately hope he does not continue to follow this Matt Murray trajectory, though. Šilovs needs to be a guy we can count on at the NHL level, either as a backup for Demko or a guy who can step up if our starter ever needs to miss more time. Lankinen is only on a 1-year contract, and given his performance so far, he’s likely going to be given a much more intriguing contract offer elsewhere in the summer. Šilovs can take this season to develop more in the AHL, but he needs to be ready for NHL competition come next season. I have full faith that this is just a simple bump in the road, and Šilovs will be a guy that we can count on soon enough.
At least we still have a better goaltending situation than Edmonton.