Artūrs Šilovs’ rise, Sidney Crosby’s scowl and a Penguins-Flyers series gone wild – The Athletic
PITTSBURGH — When the Penguins traded for Artūrs Šilovs last summer, I reverted to old habits and called Jim Rutherford. After all, Rutherford oversaw the trade to Pittsburgh and was the president of hockey operations during Šilovs’ time in Vancouver. And the guy we used to call GMJR, you may have heard, doesn’t hesitate to voice his opinion.
Rutherford said he didn’t want to lose Šilovs, but that Vancouver had a surplus of goaltending and didn’t want to risk losing him on waivers. He also noted that, while Šilovs had some warts and wasn’t a finished product, he liked “playing in the big moments.”
Rutherford also said of the young goaltender, “He can get hot and go on runs.”
You don’t say.
There are many storylines in what has become more of a saga than it is a series. Penguins-Flyers games are never conventional, after all, and neither are these.
For that matter, neither is Šilovs.
Since replacing Stuart Skinner at the beginning of Game 4, Šilovs has stopped 46 of 50 shots, good for a .920 save percentage. He’s allowed just four goals in two games and only one in the third period. That Šilovs has stopped at least 90 percent of the shots he’s faced in each game is especially relevant when considering that, from the beginning of March through the end of the regular season, his save percentage was over .900 only three times in 11 starts. He was not playing well at all, and the decision to begin the postseason with Skinner between the pipes was an obvious one.
Skinner was perfectly solid, even good, in the first two games. But they were both losses. In Game 3, Skinner played poorly, prompting Dan Muse to go with Šilovs. The 25-year-old from Latvia responded in a very big way.
Remember, it was Šilovs who put on a show at the World Championships a couple of years back. It was Šilovs who won the AHL championship last season. And it was Šilovs who led Rick Tocchet’s Canucks past the Predators and to a Game 7 against Edmonton two years ago.
It’s not a coincidence at this point. Šilovs has some serious rebound control issues; he doesn’t always track shots from the point well, and God help everyone who supports the black and gold if the NHL ever decides to use shootouts in playoff games.
All joking aside, Šilovs has been good. More importantly, he appears to possess the clutch gene. You either have it or you don’t. It’s not a learned skill.
Šilovs hasn’t just played well during the last two games, but as many veteran teammates have noted, there’s a calmness about him that they like.
The odds are still against Šilovs and the Penguins winning this series. A team has come back from down 3-0 four times in NHL history, so it’s not like a Penguins’ series victory is a slam dunk, or even a likelihood. But they do have a goaltender who doesn’t seem likely to flinch when the Flyers mount an inevitable charge in Game 6 on Wednesday.
Ten series observations
• Speaking of goaltenders, which version of Dan Vladar do we suspect will show up in Game 6?
He was fantastic in the first three games of this series. He allowed embarrassing goals in Games 4 and 5, however, and his glove hand appeared to be a problem. He was fighting the puck in Game 5, especially with that glove hand. He looked shaky. He looked a little rattled.
On the flip side, he still only allowed three goals. He was no disaster. But he didn’t look like the same guy.
Let’s see how he responds. He’s unquestionably the Flyers’ most valuable player. Playing at home when you’re a little off your game, however, can be more difficult.
• There has been plenty of talk about how nasty, or even dirty, this series has been. Almost all of that talk has come from the media or social media. I’m in the Penguins locker room every day and have been in the Flyers locker room a handful of times during this series. Other than the Penguins being annoyed at what they believe was a very intentional high stick from Garnet Hathaway to Sidney Crosby in Game 3, I haven’t heard a peep from either team about things getting nasty.
To them, it’s just playoff hockey.
• I was startled by how well the tandem of Kris Letang and Samuel Girard played in Game 5. We haven’t seen them locked in like that. They essentially played keep away during almost every shift in the third period, which was precisely what the situation required.
They’ll need to be that good again in Game 6. Erik Karlsson is still playing very well, but he’s cooled off since his outrageous hot streak that propelled the Penguins into the playoffs. Ilya Solovyov has played well, but his minutes are being severely limited.
Letang and Girard are going to receive huge minutes Wednesday.
• For better or worse, depending on your perspective, Trevor Zegras was very, very quiet in Game 5.
Whether it’s getting on the scoresheet or getting under the Penguins’ skin, I suspect he’ll be more active Wednesday.
• Let’s keep an eye on Evgeni Malkin. He was probably the Penguins’ best player in the first three games of this series, and in fact, he really had his legs in Game 4 and played high-level hockey. Malkin had zero jump in Game 5.
Perhaps the jump will return in Game 6.
• It’s Egor Chinakhov time. Or, at least, it had better be.
The Penguins are an explosive offensive team largely because of Chinakhov, whose shot and speed are simply rare. They’ve not been an explosive team in this series, and he’s been painfully quiet. That’s no coincidence. Chinakhov coming to life would be a godsend for the Penguins.
• I’ve been watching Rickard Rakell a lot in this series. He’s been outstanding. I had never appreciated the nuance in his game until this season. He’s doing the little things, and he’s doing them well.
• Tocchet is a really good coach. He’s been under fire all season for how he’s handled Matvei Michkov, perhaps Philadelphia’s most gifted forward. Michkov was a healthy scratch in Game 5.
It was the right call. Michkov was invisible during the first four games of this series.
• Bryan Rust has a goal in this series but has been more visible during altercations, including his wild brawl with Travis Konecny in Game 3 and his pulling of Porter Martone’s hair in Game 4.
Should the Penguins pull off this comeback, I would imagine Rust will have a big moment. They don’t call him Big Game Bryan Rust for nothing.
• The look on Crosby’s face following Game 5 said it all. I haven’t a clue how this series will end, but the look on his face told me that he believes. His game appeared to shift to a different place starting in Game 4. Were I the Flyers, this would concern me.
