The Penguins' season ended Wednesday, 1-0 in overtime, against the Flyers in Game 6.
Without Arturs Silovs, this series might have ended a lot sooner. And without Silovs, this game certainly wouldn't have been as close as it was.
He stopped all but one of the 32 shots he faced in the loss, and he wastested on those. Within that, he faced 10 high-danger shots on goal, as well as a number of breakaways, and ... well, just watch it:
"I was trying to do my best," he said after, shrugging his shoulders. "Every single game."
His best was what the Penguins needed. Dan Muse made the decision to switch from Stuart Skinner to Silovs after Game 3, a move he stressed was less about Skinner's play and more about just needing to make changes after going to the brink of elimination.
While Skinner wasn't at all the problem, Silovs sure was the solution. He finishes the playoffs with a .939 save percentage and a 1.52 goals-against average. Taking into account the quality of changes he was up against, he exits the postseason fifth in the league in rate of goals saved above expected among the 17 goaltenders with at least three games played these playoffs.
Muse seemed emotional after the loss talking about what Silovs was able to do this postseason.
"It's not easy to be going back and forth every other game, then you go for a long stretch and you're not playing," Muse said. "For him to come into this series the way he did, I can't say enough about him. He's such a competitor. His preparation is incredible. I mean, he had a great season for us. A lot of big wins. His game just continued to grow as the year went on. Going into a game like tonight, for him to come in and play that type of a game, it's just a huge credit to him and everything he does."
Silovs is a big-game performer. That's not just about this three-game sample size. It's about his starts on back-to-back nights against the Panthers, stepping up for a crucial two games after Skinner had to miss the second one with an injury. It's about his Calder Cup MVP-winning run last year in the AHL. It's about being thrust into a starting role midway through the first round in 2024 with the Canucks as their third goaltender, and eliminating the Predators and taking the Oilers all the way to seven games. It's about the Olympics this season, earning Latvia its first win since 2014.
After the Penguins went down 3-0 and Silovs came in, each of the next three games was a one-goal contest, not counting a late empty-net goal in Game 4. This could have easily been a sweep had he not stepped up the way he did. The way he has a history of doing when the stakes are at their highest.
The Penguins have a decision to make this summer in regards to their goaltenders. They can't keep both Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist splitting the net in Wilkes-Barre. Something has to budge at the NHL level, and both Skinner and Silovs are free agents -- Skinner unrestricted, Silovs restricted.
Silovs is young. He just turned 25. He was still technically a rookie this season. Skinner isn't exactly old himself, though, at 27. Skinner had the better regular-season of the two. That's one of the reasons he was the Game 1 starter.
It wouldn't be unreasonable, though, to say that Silovs was the Penguins' best player period in this series. And that might bolster his case to be the goaltender that sticks around going into next season.
THE ASYLUM
Silovs' stellar show a portend?
The Penguins' season ended Wednesday, 1-0 in overtime, against the Flyers in Game 6.
Without Arturs Silovs, this series might have ended a lot sooner. And without Silovs, this game certainly wouldn't have been as close as it was.
He stopped all but one of the 32 shots he faced in the loss, and he was tested on those. Within that, he faced 10 high-danger shots on goal, as well as a number of breakaways, and ... well, just watch it:
"I was trying to do my best," he said after, shrugging his shoulders. "Every single game."
His best was what the Penguins needed. Dan Muse made the decision to switch from Stuart Skinner to Silovs after Game 3, a move he stressed was less about Skinner's play and more about just needing to make changes after going to the brink of elimination.
While Skinner wasn't at all the problem, Silovs sure was the solution. He finishes the playoffs with a .939 save percentage and a 1.52 goals-against average. Taking into account the quality of changes he was up against, he exits the postseason fifth in the league in rate of goals saved above expected among the 17 goaltenders with at least three games played these playoffs.
Muse seemed emotional after the loss talking about what Silovs was able to do this postseason.
"It's not easy to be going back and forth every other game, then you go for a long stretch and you're not playing," Muse said. "For him to come into this series the way he did, I can't say enough about him. He's such a competitor. His preparation is incredible. I mean, he had a great season for us. A lot of big wins. His game just continued to grow as the year went on. Going into a game like tonight, for him to come in and play that type of a game, it's just a huge credit to him and everything he does."
Silovs is a big-game performer. That's not just about this three-game sample size. It's about his starts on back-to-back nights against the Panthers, stepping up for a crucial two games after Skinner had to miss the second one with an injury. It's about his Calder Cup MVP-winning run last year in the AHL. It's about being thrust into a starting role midway through the first round in 2024 with the Canucks as their third goaltender, and eliminating the Predators and taking the Oilers all the way to seven games. It's about the Olympics this season, earning Latvia its first win since 2014.
After the Penguins went down 3-0 and Silovs came in, each of the next three games was a one-goal contest, not counting a late empty-net goal in Game 4. This could have easily been a sweep had he not stepped up the way he did. The way he has a history of doing when the stakes are at their highest.
The Penguins have a decision to make this summer in regards to their goaltenders. They can't keep both Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist splitting the net in Wilkes-Barre. Something has to budge at the NHL level, and both Skinner and Silovs are free agents -- Skinner unrestricted, Silovs restricted.
Silovs is young. He just turned 25. He was still technically a rookie this season. Skinner isn't exactly old himself, though, at 27. Skinner had the better regular-season of the two. That's one of the reasons he was the Game 1 starter.
It wouldn't be unreasonable, though, to say that Silovs was the Penguins' best player period in this series. And that might bolster his case to be the goaltender that sticks around going into next season.
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