Arturs Silovs and the stability of nets in the AHL has been a lingering issue this season and in Wednesday's (April 23) game one of the best-of-three series against the Tucson Roadrunners it nearly blew up the Abbotsford Canucks postseason.
With Tucson's net empty and the Roadrunners down 4-3, Abbotsford's net was knocked off its moorings with just 35 seconds remaining in the game.
Play was whistled dead, confusion spread throughout the crowd and it was announced that the Roadrunners were receiving a penalty shot. The official believed that Silovs intentionally knocked the net off and in the final minute of the game a penalty shot is awarded.
The last Tucson player to touch the puck before the net was knocked off was defenceman Max Szuber, who was then stifled by Silovs.
ARTURS SILOVS!!!
— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) April 24, 2025
He makes a stop on a PENALTY SHOT with 35 seconds remaining in the game.
Good lord. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/3uiaK7HsDS
This isn't the first time that Silovs has been called for that infraction. It did occur in 2023 when he dislodged the net against the San Jose Barracuda.
San Jose received a penalty shot after Silvos dislodged the net. Silovs stands tall pic.twitter.com/y5K5AYIFe7
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) January 15, 2023
The net has also been dislodged with him in goal several times this season, but calls were not made. Silovs said he was motivated to make the save after the ref called for a penalty shot.
"The ref sees what he sees," he said. "He saw movement and he made the call for me. It was important for me to make that save, I was really mentally prepared for that."
The bizarre finish left a bit of a strange feeling inside the Abbotsford Centre after what was a solid 4-3 win for the Canucks. Abbotsford was up 4-1 late in the second, but then for the time this season allowed a shorthanded goal at 18:05 of the second. Throughout the 2024-25 regular season the club did not allow a single shorthanded goal, but they were burned in game one of the playoffs.
Tucson added another goal at 7:29 of the third to make it a one-goal game, but Silovs shut the door after that.
Abbotsford's Tristen Nielsen opened the scoring at 9:45 of the first and Roadrunners forward Hunter Drew replied at 18:22. The Canucks failed to generate a lot of offensive momentum or pressure in the first and were out shot 8-7. Head coach Manny Malhotra said his team didn't come out the way he wanted them to.
The first goal of the postseason goes to Nieler‼️ pic.twitter.com/jen2bAaocE
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 24, 2025
"It was a lot of settling into the game," he said. "They did exactly what we thought they would do, in terms of their intensity and the way they finish all their hits. The way we handled some of that pressure needs to be better and a little cleaner to get us out of the zone quicker."
Malhotra acknowledged that establishing control of the game and spending quality time in their zone will be a key to winning the series. He also praised the poise of Silovs for making some big saves in the third and the crucial save on the penalty shot. He added that he thinks his team can be better.
"We got the win, but not in ideal fashion," he said. "When you have a game at 4-1 you expect to have more control of the game and settle things down a bit more. But give credit to them, they're the type of team that will not go away."
Blais on the power play, 2-1 Abbotsford pic.twitter.com/VKJfOStqoA
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) April 24, 2025
The Canucks also got two goals from Sammy Blais and one from Linus Karlsson, while Arshdeep Bains recorded two assists. Blais, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, said that he enjoys the playoff atmosphere.
"Playoffs is always more fun," he said. "When I was coming to the rink today I could feel it in my body that it was going to be a fun one. It's way more exciting to play in these types of games and I just try to bring my experience for the guys and kind of lead the way a little bit."
Blais said he didn't like the way the team put the pedal off the gas when they had the lead.
Blais on the power play, 4-1 Abbotsford pic.twitter.com/N92gXHAEA0
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) April 24, 2025
"We went up 4-1 and I think we changed a little bit the way we played," he said. "But in playoffs it doesn't really matter because we got the win at the end of the day. Tomorrow is a big one and we know they are going to be coming at us hard."
Karlsson, who is in the process of attempting to grow a playoff moustache, said he thinks his team can do better.
"I think we lost our plan a little bit," he said, of the 4-1 lead that disappeared. "We didn't get the momentum we wanted and that is something we need to look at for tomorrow. I didn't play my best game out there today so I'm going to reload and do better tomorrow."
LINUS LIGHTS THE LAMP! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/mo2MV04M5D
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 24, 2025
Abbotsford's power play was a big factor in the game, as they went 2/6 and took advantage of several costly penalties called on Tucson. The Roadrunners out shot the Canucks 24-23, with Max Sasson posting a team-high four.
Tucson's Travis Barron had a three-point night (one goal and two assists) and Artem Duda tallied the Roadrunners other goal. Tucson captain Austin Poganski took a five-minute penalty for boarding when he clobbered Abbotsford's Akito Hirose from behind in the second period. The lengthy power play saw the Canucks score and Roadrunners reply with a shorthanded goal.
WON DOWN, ONE TO GO 🤩 pic.twitter.com/wAYj1h9F4q
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 24, 2025
Reported attendance on Wednesday was 3,760.
The two teams meet again for game two on Thursday (April 24). Face-off is set for 7 p.m. and an Abbotsford win will eliminate Tucson. A Roadrunners win and the teams meet again for a decisive game three on Saturday (April 26).
Continue visiting abbynews.com for ongoing coverage of the Abbotsford Canucks journey in the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs.
