https://triblive.com/sports/goaltender-arturs-silovs-beats-former-team-as-penguins-rout-canucks-for-3rd-straight-win/
Goaltender Arturs Silovs beats former team as Penguins rout Canucks for 3rd straight win
Goaltender Arturs Silovs doesn’t harbor any ill will towards the Vancouver Canucks over trading him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in July.
He understands it was a matter of sound roster management as the Canucks had a logjam in net and someone had to go.
“It was fun to play for them,” Silovs said Monday in Cranberry. “It was the move they had to make.”
Regardless, the appeal of trying to beat his former employer was obvious, no matter the circumstances.
Silovs satisfied that urge Tuesday by stopping 23 of 24 shots in a convincing 5-1 win against the Canucks at PPG Paints Arena.
The result boosted Silovs’ record to 3-1-0 and extended the team’s winning streak to three games.
A three-goal outburst from Tommy Novak, Sidney Crosby and Anthony Mantha over a span of 3 minutes, 8 seconds during the second period propelled the Penguins to victory.
“We just kind of stuck with it,” said Penguins forward Justin Brazeau, who paced all scorers with a career-best three points (one goal, two assists). “We knew coming into the game they were a team that was trying to get above and making sure they were playing on the right side of the puck. We were trying to stay patient, knowing that opportunities were going to come. Especially if we got a little lead like that, they might start cheating a little bit on offense just because they have to get it back.
“Sticking to our game plan, I thought we did a good job.”
Silovs fell victim to a problem that plagued the Penguins far too often last season when he allowed a goal on the first shot he faced, a slapper that resulted in forward Conor Garland’s second goal this season, only 78 seconds into regulation.
From his own left half wall, Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek lobbed a pass to the neutral zone where Canucks forward Elias Pettersson one-touched it up ice into the Penguins’ zone on the right wing. With Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea flatfooted in response to the sequence, Garland sprinted after the puck, claimed it and smacked the puck from the right dot to the far side, toasting Silovs’ blocker. Pettersson and Hronek had assists.
Conor Garland - Vancouver Canucks (2) pic.twitter.com/UrkCL21cFh— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 22, 2025
During the 2024-25 campaign, Penguins goaltenders (Joel Blomqvist, Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic) allowed opponents to score 15 “first-shot” goals.
Silovs was nonchalant about the significance of allowing a score under such circumstances.
“Every single game is different,” Silovs said. “Sometimes, the first shot is (the) hardest. First shot, getting into the game and it was a good shot. A good clapper. Have to give credit to (Garland). But after that, I felt pretty solid.”
That was apparent when he denied Canucks forward Evander Kane on a breakaway at the 5:31 mark of the opening frame.
pic.twitter.com/AknWzdqqsE— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 22, 2025
“He’s done a great job all year for us, just making the saves when we need him to make the saves,” Brazeau said. “Obviously, it’s a special game for him against his old team. The first shot of the game is basically a breakaway slapshot. It’s not him. It’s kind of on us. He did a good job of settling in after and not letting that get to him.
“Our team did a pretty good job in front of him, making sure that didn’t affect us.”
The Penguins waited until their fourth shot of the contest at 11:39 to get on the scoreboard via forward Connor Dewar’s second goal.
Off some strong work along the Canucks’ end boards by Penguins forth-liners Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari, Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon accepted a pass at the left point and chucked a wrister toward the cage. Establishing position just below the left hashmark, Dewar fended off contact from former Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph and deflected the puck with the shaft of his stick over goaltender Kevin Lankinen’s right shoulder on the near side. Wotherspoon and Acciari accumulated assists.
pic.twitter.com/bUuLmYqtAi— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 22, 2025
Novak’s first goal of the season (and first as a member of the Penguins) came at 14:21 of the second period during a power-play sequence.
Corralling a loose puck at the right point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang fed a pass to the near half wall for Novak. As Vancouver defenseman Elias Pettersson (yes, the Canucks have two players with the same name) presented little resistance, Novak accepted the charity, sauntered his way into the left circle and ripped a Trident missile of a wrister by Lankinen’s blocker on the far side. Letang and Brazeau logged assists.
pic.twitter.com/X2gngdLPIy— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 22, 2025
“Just take what they give me,” Novak said. “They backed off a little bit more than maybe they usually would and I decided to shoot it. I saw a corner and I’m glad it went in.”
Crosby got in on the act with his fourth goal at 16:18 of the second frame.
After linesman C.J. Murray chased Crosby out of the Canucks’ right circle for a faceoff, linemate Rickard Rakell stepped in and muscled a faceoff win against Vancouver forward Aatu Raty. That allowed Crosby to dart in from the right wing, claim the puck, deke past Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood and sizzle a wrister from above the left hashmark by Lankinen’s blocker. Rakell registered the lone assist.
pic.twitter.com/mceKGuPgmY— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 22, 2025
That score allowed Crosby to claim something of a convoluted “record” as it was his 1,896th career point in both regular season and postseason games, the most in franchise history. The previous owner of that mark was the iconic Mario Lemieux (1,895).
The mark of greater significance is the regular season total. Lemieux still holds that figure at 1,723 points, though Crosby (1,695) is within gravitational pull of surpassing his former landlord for that milestone.
“Took me probably 500 more games,” Crosby quipped. “Been here for a long time and been fortunate to play with some great players. That’s how I look at it.”
The hosts went up by a field goal at 17:29 of the second period via Mantha’s third goal.
Lugging the puck from behind his own net, Mantha flipped it up into the neutral zone where Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson clumsily tried to backhand it down, only to bat it into the lap of Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. Settling the puck at his feet, Malkin advanced it into the offensive zone and veered into the left circle. Fending off ex-Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, Malkin snapped a wrister on net, which Lankinen rejected. The rebound bounced to the right of the crease, where Mantha crashed in and directed it into the vacant cage despite being tackled into the net by Canucks forward Max Sasson. Malkin and Brazeau had assists.
pic.twitter.com/xdgOrtiK4b— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 22, 2025
In total, three of the Penguins’ four lines generated even-strength goals Tuesday.
“We have a lot of guys that can make a lot of plays on this team,” Brazeau boasted. “I don’t think there’s a single line if we give them the opportunity, they’re not going to make the play. It’s a good combination where we have guys that are good on both sides of the puck and also make plays in the offensive end. It makes it tough on other teams to find their matchups because you can’t just have one line shut down one line.”
Brazeau wrestled the team lead for goals back from Crosby with his fifth goal at 5:56 of the third period during a power-play sequence.
Gaining the center red line, Letang snapped a dump-in to the left corner of the Canucks’ zone. Playing the bank, Mantha tried to tap the puck into the near circle for Novak but failed to connect. Brazeau was Johnny on the spot and claimed the puck, snapping a wrister from between the left hashmarks past a distressed Lankinen’s glove. Mantha and Letang merited assists.
pic.twitter.com/oeBRLGnWKt— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 22, 2025
For Letang, the second assist was the 600th of his career.
“We scored and we kept pressing,” Letang said of the second-period surge. “When you get a lead like this, it’s a lot easier, and it’s tough for a team on the road with the last change (before faceoffs) to come back into games.
“In the first, we were not as predictable to each other, and in the second, we put the puck a little bit more north, and were able to generate more offense.”
They generated it in front of a goaltender who shook off a rough start and stopped the final 23 shots he faced.
“Just the crucial moments in a game, you block a shot, you make a good save, and it just combines together that momentum,” Silovs said. “You make one save, a good block, then a second and we managed to score straight away. From there, we just took the momentum.”
Notes:
• Novak became the 589th player to score a regular season goal for the franchise.
• Silovs (3-1-0) moved into a tie for 45th place on the franchise’s career goaltending wins list with Andy Chiodo, Gary Edwards, Paul Harrison, Bob Johnson and Brad Thiessen.
• Penguins defensemen Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton as well as forward Philip Tomasino were healthy scratches.
• Former Penguins forward Teddy Blueger was scratched due to an undisclosed injury he suffered during a 4-3 road win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
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