Canucks vs. Predators Game Day Update: Casey DeSmith injured, Arturs Silovs Game 4 starter
DeSmith was levelled by a heavy shoulder hit from Predators winger Michael McCarron on Friday. His injury isn't related to that contact.
Article content
Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators
Round 1, Game 4, NHL Playoffs
When/where: Sunday, 2 p.m., Nationwide Arena
TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: Now we know. The burning question Sunday morning in Nashville has been answered.
Casey DeSmith has a minor ailment sustained late in Game 3 Friday and could possibly play in Game 5 on Tuesday at Rogers Arena. Arturs Silovs will get the cage in Game 4 and the recalled Nikita Tolopilo will serve as his back-up. Cue the drama.
A good injury sign is that DeSmith will serve as the designated EBUG (emergency back-up goalie) for Sunday.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet did not confirm DeSmith as his Game 4 starter. He also told the media he had a lineup decision to make before the 2 p.m. (Pacific) start. Of course, that lit a speculation fire of what may, or may not be, wrong with the Canucks’ back-up starter, who was solid Friday in a 2-1 victory to stake his club to a 2-1 series lead.
“We have a game time (decision) where we’re not quite sure yet,” Tocchet said. “We’ll see.”
And now, we’ll see how it all plays out.
DeSmith made 29 saves and was sharp and steady. He was also levelled by a heavy first-period shoulder hit from Predators winger Michael McCarron as he went to play the puck behind the Canucks’ net. McCarron took a direct route to DeSmith and then pivoted to make sure he made a big impact. He received a minor and US$2,000 fine for the incident.
DeSmith shook it off and came up smiling. Tocchet was incensed on Saturday.
“It’s a little sensitive,” we’ve already got a goalie hurt,” he said in reference to Thatcher Demko. “Sometimes, there are collisions. I get it. But instead of going straight, he (McCarron) did that one thing at the end. While it was accidental, it wasn’t accidental.
“Listen. I played the game. I don’t want to rip on players, but he put his shoulder into Casey.”
There was pre-game buzz that DeSmith has an ailment, but nothing serious, and not related to the McCarron hit. The Canucks are just being prudent. Sit him a game to possibly be ready for Game 5 and give Silovs the cage because they’re confident in him.
Silovs, 23, is 3-0-1 in the NHL this season with a 2.47 goals-against average and .881 saves percentage. He’s no stranger to the big stage. He backstopped his native Latvia to a surprise bronze in May at the world hockey championship. It was the country’s first medal in the annual spring event.
Silovs went 7-2-0 to backstop the 2023 bronze and posted a 2.20 GAA, .921 saves percentage and one shutout to start the hearty party in Latvia. His demeanour is one of his biggest weapons.
“Let the game come to you,” he told Postmedia. “You don’t really have to be stressed out about it. Wait for the moment that you have worked for to see the puck and make the save. It’s a great opportunity to play at this (NHL) level to show the world how you can play.
“Relax. Do your thing and use your instincts.”
READ MORE: Canucks’ Arturs Silovs on winning bronze, the goalie he admires and his perfect day off in Vancouver
The buzz: 2.0: It was providing lyrics for an achy-breaky country song.
The Canucks’ perplexing power play had sung a sorrowful refrain. An 0-for-6 struggle and five shots in the opening two games of a first-round playoff series against the Predators didn’t help. There were repetitive laments about too much artistry and not enough attack.
The talk was finally replaced by a walk of resolve Friday in Music City.
The power play struck for two goals for the first time in seven games as the Canucks claimed a 2-1 victory and 2-1 series advantage. Solid goaltending by Casey DeSmith was crucial, but so was winning the special-teams battle.
Going 2-for-3 on the power play and killing all five penalties went a long way to sealing the deal. The kill has been an exceptional thrill with a 25-for-26 run of efficiency the last seven outings.
As for the power play, it wasn’t just getting out of the man-advantage funk, it was how the goals were scored.
Brock Boeser set the perfect screen for a J.T. Miller laser wrister to the far glove side that Jusse Saros couldn’t track. Boeser then stood his ground in the net-front position to redirect a no-look feed from Miller while being cross-checked to the ice.
“Star guys stick with it,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “If you’re not scoring, make sure you’re doing other things. That’s a good lesson for our guys.”
It’s why big power-play efforts earned big check marks.
“Those don’t go in without him,” Miller said of the screen. “He’s really good, when I release it, of having the goalie look at his back. He (Saros) is too good to score on from there — it’s not going to happen without Brock.”
As for Boeser, improved strength and finish down low have allowed him to be more efficient when he shifts from the bumper spot.
“J.T. played a lot of net front back in the day and it took me a while to buy-in — he taught me a lot,” said Boeser, who finished tied for seventh overall with 16 power-play goals this season.
The Canucks also blocked 30 shots Friday and protected the front of the net well. However, they also gave up too much in the neutral zone to initiate the Predators’ push in the third period and a 14-3 shot advantage.
“It was not good,” stressed Tocchet. “They adjusted and were going through us pretty easily. And our breakouts were less than average, a couple of things we have to shore up.”
The hope: DeSmith can play and continues to deliver in relief of Demko. He was under siege early in Game 3, but kept his composure to withstand power plays and showed better rebound control. He was more calm, more centred with 29 saves.
The fear: Open season on Quinn Hughes. The captain was treated like a piñata from the outset — knocked to the ice and double-teamed in a sideboards collision — and the intent was obvious. Without time and space to wheel and deal, Hughes is less effective. The Canucks need to be better in the neutral zone and buy him more exit time.
The stat: The Canucks are 12-for-13 on the penalty kill in the series. Six players acquired this season have a PK pedigree and that has made all the difference. Elias Pettersson, Miller and Hughes aren’t not taxed to also kill.
The wounded: Canucks: Thatcher Demko (knee, week-to-week). Predators: No injuries to report.
The quote: “It’s huge when our power play can find it. Hopefully, it gives us confidence for our 5-on-5 game.” — Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet.
The lineup:
Suter-Miller-Boeser
Hoglander-Pettersson-Mikheyev
Joshua-Lindholm-Garland
Di Giuseppe-Blueger-Lafferty
Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Zadorov-Cole
DeSmith
The prediction: The Canucks make needed adjustments but the desperate Predators can’t go down 3-1 in the series. This one goes to overtime and it’s a coin toss. It’s going to be 4-3 and the Preds may prevail. Happy to be wrong.
(FAN FORUM: Do you have a specific question for a player? Pass it along to @provincesports and we’ll get it in a future edition.)
Read more of our Canucks vs Predators coverage:
• ‘It wasn’t accidental.’ Rick Tocchet takes issue with fined hit on Casey DeSmith
• Canucks vs. Predators Game Day: Power play awakening adds playoff knockout punch
• Canucks vs. Predators: A defensive scheme that would make Jacques Lemaire proud
• Canucks: No suspension, only fine for controversial McCarron hit on DeSmith
• Canucks’ fan-made playoff anthem brings out the trolls
• Nikita Zadorov knows what it means to be built for the playoffs
• More Canucks coverage here
GET YOUR CANUCKS PLAYOFF POSTERS: We are proud to partner with the Vancouver Canucks to bring you this year’s edition of the longtime Province tradition, the Canucks Playoff Poster series. CLICK HERE to get a new player poster emailed to you every game day!
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.