Vancouver Canucks announce surprising starting goalie for matchup against Tampa Bay Lighting
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has come to decision that Arturs Silovs will be starting in goal tonight for their matchup against the Tampa Bay Lighting.
The Vancouver Canucks hit the road for the first time in the 2024-25 season as they begin their four-game trip in Tampa Bay against the Lightning, who will be having their home opener tonight after Saturday's tilt against Carolina was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
Rick Tocchet's group are coming off losses to Calgary and Philadelphia to start the season and will look to get into the win column tonight in Tampa Bay against a tough Lightning squad led by Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov.
In Vancouver's season opener against the Calgary Flames, Tocchet gave the start to Arturs Silovs and frankly, he didn't look great, allowing six goals on 26 shots in the overtime loss. The loss isn't solely on him as the Canucks fell apart after leading 4-1 after the first period.
Two days later, it was Finnish netminder Kevin Lankinen who got the start for the Canucks and he looked really good, allowing just two goals on 31 shots, but the team fell to Philadelphia in a shootout.
On Tuesday morning when speaking to the media, Rick Tocchet shared who he's turning to between the pipes tonight against Tampa Bay and it's a bit of a surprise to say the least. Tocchet shared that Arturs Silovs will be starting tonight's game.
While it is a bit of a surprise to see Tocchet go with Silovs rather than ride the hot hand in Kevin Lankinen, but it might come down to not wanting the Latvian netminder to get cold and may want to rotate his tandem to ensure they're both ready when called upon.
Tocchet also provided an update on the status of veteran defenceman Tyler Myers, who left Friday's game in the first period after getting tangled up with Philadelphia Flyers forward Joel Farabee. Myers accompanied the Canucks on their road trip and today, Tocchet said that Tyler Myers is a possibility to play against the Lightning.
If Myers isn't good to go, it's safe to assume Vincent Desharnais will be inserted back into the lineup and Noah Juulsen will play in his second game of the season. We'll have to wait and see in warmups tonight what the Canucks' lineup will look like.
Puck drop for tonight's game is set for 4 pm PT/7 pm ET and can be viewed in the Canucks region on Sportsnet Pacific.
| POLL | ||
Who do you think should be the Canucks' number 1 goaltender until Demko is back? | ||
| Arturs Silovs | 59 | 22.3 % |
| Kevin Lankinen | 106 | 40.2 % |
| Rotate them on a game-by-game basis | 99 | 37.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
