2) Better showing from Silovs
There was surprise for some, that Artūrs Šilovs got the start in Tampba Bay. The thinking was that Kevin Lankinen would get the nod between the pipes, given that he had a better outing in his first game of the season versus the Philadelphia Flyers, compared to his teammate against the Flames.
However, as we wrote on Sunday, who started this game and then Thursday's contest against the Florida Panthers, would allude to Tocchet's confidence in each goalie; yes, even at this very early stage of the season. The Canucks head coach had advised he wanted to keep both netminders involved early on in the 2024-25 campaign, and we believed whoever he had more faith in, would start versus the Stanley Cup champions.
In the end, this decision was made easy after a nightmare outing for Šilovs versus the Flames, with him giving up six goals on 26 shots. Meanwhile, Lankinen offered more of a calming performance against the Flyers, allowing just two goals on 31 shots.
We appreciate there will have been some concern about Šilovs heading into Tuesday evening, but the reality is he kept the Canucks in the game as they were outshot 8-1 in the early going. Yes the Lightning took a 1-0 lead after just 3:55 of play, but that was it for the opening 20 minutes thanks to the excellent play of the visiting goaltender in keeping the hosts at bay.
In the end, Šilovs would allow three goals on the 27 shots he faced, but the truth is you only attach any real blame to him on the Lightning's second goal. Overall, we appreciate he still has things he needs to work on, but his performance was a nice recovery from his horrendous display on opening night.