Canucks’ Arturs Silvos fires savage shot at Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl after Game 3

Silvos did not start the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Canucks. In fact, he wasn’t even the primary backup with the team. He became the backup after Thatcher Demko went down with an injury in Game 1 against the Nashville Predators. And Vancouver had to turn to him after Casey DeSmith went down before Game 4.

That being said, the young goalie has more than held his own. He pitched a shutout against Nashville in Game 6 to eliminate the Predators. And he held the fort down in Game 1 to allow the Canucks to come back against the Oilers. Overall, he has recorded a .908 save percentage, -0.46 goals saved above average, and 0.51 goals saved above expected in six playoff games.

These aren’t numbers to write home about. But Arturs Silvos has given Vancouver a fighting chance without their starter and primary backup. As a result, the Canucks are now two wins away from the Western Conference Finals. This is a position they haven’t been in since the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Oilers need a win in Game 4

Silvos has kept Leon Draisaitl and company at bay at times. But the Oilers have still received their fair share of chances. Even after the Canucks scored an empty netter on Sunday night, Edmonton kept pushing. That resulted in Edmonton scoring a goal to give them life once again.

The Oilers will certainly need to pull out all the stops in Game 4. Once again, they play host to the Canucks in Edmonton. But a loss on home ice presents them with a daunting task. They would need to win out their next three games, with two of them being on the road, to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Edmonton has more experience with deep playoff runs. The Oilers went to the Western Conference Finals back in 2022. They fell in four games to the Colorado Avalanche that year. But it’s further than the Canucks have advanced in a while. Vancouver lost in the 2020 second round to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Canucks last made the third round in 2011, when they went to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers have more recent playoff experience to climb out of this hole. But they need to avoid digging that hole any deeper. Edmonton takes the ice again in Game 5 against the Canucks on Tuesday night with puck drop currently scheduled for 9:30 PM Eastern Time.