Canucks don't reveal starting goalie for Game 5 against Predators

VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks aren't announcing which goalie will start Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP, BSSO, TBS, MAX) with a chance to close out the best-of-7 series.

"Game time," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said Tuesday when asked who would start. "I usually tell you guys but this is playoff stuff, I was told it's game time."

Thatcher Demko, Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs have all won to help the Canucks build a 3-1 lead despite being outplayed for long stretches.

"We always talk about in the playoffs it's the next man up mentality and that goes for the goalies too," Canucks forward J.T. Miller said. "They've been unreal. I couldn't imagine being in their spot where you do a lot of sitting around. Even for Casey, he got to play a little bit down the stretch, which I think was big for his confidence but even for him to step into a playoff game out of nowhere and then for Arturs to come in out of nowhere and play, it's unreal. I'm really happy for the guys. Those are big moments of the series."

Demko has not played since Game 1 and is week to week with an undisclosed injury. DeSmith is dealing with an injury and wanted to play in Game 4 on Sunday, but the Canucks decided to take "the safe route" and Nikita Tolopilo dressed as the backup behind Silovs.

"I think both." Tocchet said, when asked if the decision would be based on performance or health. "You look at where that person is injury wise, you talk to the doctor, you talk to the trainer, and then you talk to him. There has to be a three-way conversation and then you just make your decision."

Tocchet did say he expects DeSmith to dress for the game.

"I'll put it this way," he said. "Casey had a good day yesterday, and so I would foresee if he did not play, he'd be a backup."

On Monday, Tocchet was more definitive about not hesitating if he must go back to Silovs, in large part because of how he handled the situation in Game 4. The 23-year-old Latvia-born goalie had only played nine games over two NHL seasons. He was 3-0-1 with a 2.47 goals-against average and .881 save percentage in four games this season but seemed unfazed by the pressure of his first Stanley Cup Playoff start in Nashville on Sunday.

Silovs made 27 saves in a dramatic 4-3 overtime win that included two goals with him on the bench for an extra attacker to tie it late.

"He's a quiet kid but he's got some swagger in him," Tocchet said. "It's hard to explain. He's just ready. You heard him [after Game 4], he said 'ready to shine.' That was kind of fun to hear him say that. … Even when I told [him Saturday] 'you're going to play,' I didn't see that much nervousness. I think he mentioned playing for Latvia [in the 2023 IIHF] World Championship, where he had the whole country on his on his back, so he's been there before in certain scenes."

It's just the third time in NHL history three goalies have won a game in the same playoff series, and first in 20 years, when Vancouver got wins from Dan Cloutier, Johan Hedberg and Alex Auld in the 2004 Western Conference Quarterfinals, a seven-game loss to the Calgary Flames.

"That's pretty cool." Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers said. "It goes to show we're going to have success when we fall back on our system. Our team defense has been good, definitely always things to look at that we can get better at, but we've had great goaltending from three different guys and when you combine that with the way we're playing within our system, good things tend to happen."

Demko, named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy given to the top goalie in the NHL on Monday, made 22 saves in a 4-2 win in Game 1, but was injured in the final minute. DeSmith, who played 29 games in his first season with the Canucks, started the next two games, making 12 saves in a 4-1 loss in Game 2 and 29 in a 2-1 victory in Game 3. He practiced Saturday, but Silovs started Game 4.

"We're not worried about who is in net," Miller said. "It doesn't matter if there was no goalie in there, we want to play the same way. Goalies getting hurt is totally out of our control, so we're trying to worry about ourselves."

Silovs was named MVP of the 2023 Worlds after going 7-3-0 with a 2.20 GAA and .921 save percentage that included a 26-save, 4-3 overtime win against the United States in the bronze-medal game to secure Latvia's first-ever medal at the event.

"He's a gamer," said Canucks forward Conor Garland, who played for the United States. "He's calm, couldn't even tell it was his first [playoff] game, so we're really excited for him. I saw this summer, he killed us at Worlds, and I saw how talented he was, how agile. He's an athlete. You see it when he's in the net and he just competes, so he's fun to play for."

Vancouver is on the brink of advancing despite being outshot 100-72 in the series and having the fewest shots on goal in the postseason.

"I think it's a confidence in our goalies," defenseman Carson Soucy said. "Thatcher, Casey and 'Arty' have done their part, so we obviously have confidence in them but there's still that confidence in the group that the way we have to play should dictate the flow of the game. All goalies at this level, if they're seeing the puck, they're making that first save. We just do our part to make sure that's easy on them."