Canucks Wrap: Goalie controversy in Vancouver?

In the continued absence of incumbent starting goalie Thatcher Demko, the Vancouver Canucks are at a crossroads between the pipes.

Latvian youngster Arturs Silovs stole the show for the Canucks late last season, making a spirited effort in the Stanley Cup playoffs after coming up from Abbotsford.

On the other hand, Silovs has never really played well at the NHL level over any extended period of time in his career. Through parts of two seasons, the 23-year-old has a 6-2-1 record but only a .885 save percentage to show for it.

Silovs' early career struggles reared their ugly head on Wednesday, as the Canucks goalie allowed six goals in an ugly 6-5 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames.

By comparison, free agent signing Kevin Lankinen was as good as the Canucks could have asked for in Friday night's 3-2 shootout loss to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers, making 29 saves on 31 shots (.935 save percentage) and stopping 0.2 goals above expected, per Moneypuck.

While those are not elite numbers that reflect a stolen game or anything of the sort, that is all the Canucks really need to win games.

If Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is picking his lineup based on merit, his hand may have been forced, and he might have to turn to Lankinen and tip the scales in the direction of the veteran.

Since there are no guarantees of how Demko might play when he returns, the Canucks need to win as many games as possible in the interim.