PENGUINS

Arturs Silovs could have easily folded when he allowed this Conor Garland goal on the first shot of tonight's game at PPG Paints Arena: 

That slap shot that Garland buried after a perfect tip pass from Elias Pettersson served as an early dagger in the heart of Silovs, who was manning the net against his former team for the first time since an offseason trade brought him to Pittsburgh. 

But he didn't let things spiral from there. Silovs managed to turn his focus toward the next shot and the next save en route to making 23 stops and earning a victory over a team whose sweater he spent parts of three seasons donning. 

"Sometimes the first shot is the hardest," Silovs said afterwards. "With the first shot, you're just getting into the game, and it was a good shot. Good clapper. I have to give credit to the guy. But after that, I felt pretty solid."

Silovs wasn't forced to make many highlight-reel saves, but two in particular stood out. 

First, it was this stop on an Evander Kane breakaway, one that followed a turnover by Caleb Jones, that could have easily shifted the momentum strictly in the Canucks' favor early in the first period: 

"Just read the player," Silovs explained. "Out-wait him and see what he's gonna do."

Then, there was this rather simple glove save late in the third period, one that seemed to help put an exclamation point on another stellar night in net for the Latvian-born netminder: 

After four starts in a Penguins uniform, Silovs has now secured three wins and compiled a 2.25 goals against average and .919 save percentage. He gave up six goals in his one loss to the Rangers on Oct. 11, but has surrendered just three goals in his three winning decisions. 

Sure, it's a small sample size and it's only Oct. 21, but Silovs is reaping the early benefits of the work he put in during the offseason. 

"The work I put in during the summer and during practices, and to actually execute and feel confident in my game, I think it's great to show that it helps me in a game," Silovs said.