Pittsburgh Penguins rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs is scheduled to start Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena.
Coach Dan Muse announced Silovs’ status following an optional morning skate in Cranberry.
In 26 games this season, Silovs has an 11-7-8 record, a 2.93 goals-against average, an .894 save percentage and one shutout.
Silovs has played one game against the Devils this season. During a 2-1 road shootout loss Nov. 8, Silovs made 23 saves on 24 shots in regulation and overtime.
With the team largely platooning goaltenders for almost every other start this season, Muse explained his decision to start Silovs instead of Stuart Skinner as the team comes out of the NHL’s Olympic break.
“That’s what we’re looking at as a starting point,” Muse said. “What we’ve been doing in terms of using both guys, I think it’s been working. As I’ve said from the very beginning (of the season), I’m not locked in on one thing. … The stretch in between (the holiday and Olympic) breaks, I thought both guys played at a really high level. We’ve got to have a starting point coming out of it and that’s what I’m going with.”
Notes:
• This will be the Penguins’ first game following the NHL’s break for the Olympics since a 5-2 road win against the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 5.
• According to Muse, forward Egor Chinakhov will be available for the game. After being excused from practice on Wednesday to attend to his wife as she gave birth to a daughter, Chinakhov did not participate in Thursday’s morning skate.
• Penguins players who participated in the morning skate included:
Forwards – Connor Dewar, Avery Hayes, Kevin Hayes, Ben Kindel, Evgeni Malkin, Tommy Novak, Rickard Rakell
Defensemen – Sam Girard, Ryan Graves, Ryan Shea, Ilya Solovyov
Goaltenders – Silovs, Stuart Skinner
• Girard, acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, is expected to make his Penguins debut. He enters the contest with 198 career assists.
• Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has 797 career points.
• Penguins forward Rickard Rakell has 297 career assists.
• Devils forward Evgeni Dadonov has 198 career assists.
• Devils defenseman Luke Hughes has 98 career assists.
• The scheduled referees are Stephen Hiff (No. 46) and Tom Chmielewski (No. 18), while the linespersons are C.J. Murray (No. 68) and Dylan Bljujus (No. 57).
