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The Rise Of Silovs & Why It Could Be A Problem
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- The Rise Of Silovs & Why It Could Be A Problem
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Who is the next Pittsburgh Penguins franchise goaltender? Is he on the 2026-27 roster? That question is as relevant as ever – maybe more so even though it's just 13 games into the season.
The prevailing thought for some time has been that Sergei Murashov has the talent and poise to be that guy. Yet it's Arturs Silovs who has been steadier this season – including stellar play in going 5-3-1 but seeming to play better than his stats while the Penguins struggle with inconsistency defensively.
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Silovs started for the fourth straight game Thursday and made 30 saves in a wild 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Utah Mammoth. From coach Dan Muse to any player who was asked, Silovs was credited with making several outstanding saves – from sharp glove saves to stops on point-blank and breakaway shots – to keep the game from getting out of control, given some lapses by his teammates .
In fact, Silovs has been one of the Penguins' best players on most nights that he has started.
Good thing, right? No team can come close to being competitive without strong goaltending.
But there's also a problem: While Silovs plays, Murashov sits.
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The Penguins won't announce a starter for Saturday's game at Montreal until that morning. If it's Murashov, it will be his first game action in two full weeks, since he took the loss as the Penguins fell 6-2 at Vegas. Murashov is 0-3-1.
So what sort of balance is the most beneficial for a team with two young goaltenders — Silovs is 25 with 67 games of NHL experience, Murashov, 22 with nine games of NHL experience? If one sits too long or too often, will it stunt his development?
"I think it's something we're always going to be evaluating and looking at and just trying to figure out (the balance)," Penguins coach Dan Muse said Friday. "In Arty's case, right now, I thought he was stacking some games for us. How much do you want to stack? You also want to be cognizant of, you don't want somebody to stay in there too long. That's a constant conversation and evaluation that's going on."
Perhaps it's an interesting notion that a hot goaltender stacks too many starts in a row.
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It's not unusual these days for teams to use a 1A-1B setup rather than having a specific No. 1 who plays the bulk of the games and a backup. Muse hasn't committed to any sort of designation or rotation for Silovs and Murashov and said at the start of the season that how they handled the goalies would be a fluid situation.
Thursday morning, after naming Silovs the starter for the fourth consecutive game, Muse reiterated that, saying, "We're going to make decisions as we go" and that Silovs earned the start against Utah because of his recent play.
After Thursday's game, Silovs said he has been feeling good and, like many goalies, thrives on playing regularly.
"For any goalie, if you play more, you get more adjusted to the game, to the pace, and it's easier long-term," he said.
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And what happens to the goalie who is dressing as the backup during those stretches, especially if it's a young goalie barely past the "prospect" designation who has been as outstanding as Murashov at every level before the NHL?
When the Penguins have back-to-back games, it's logical that the two goalies would split those starts. There were two back-to-back scenarios in October, and there are two in November – the next one is Nov. 7 at Los Angeles and Nov. 8 at Anaheim. That's not very many built-in opportunities for either of the goalies that might be relegated to primarily backup duty, if that should happen.
Murashov, in keeping with his personality, was philosophical when asked about his down time recently.
"I don't really think (about) how it's going. It's going, and it's an everyday process," he said. "It's so, like, cliché to say, but I'm using this opportunity to build my own game, spend a little more time on the ice, work on little details. Just get ready for the next game. It will definitely come at some point. When, I don't know? But I'm just making sure I'm doing everything I can so I'm ready for that.
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"It's only the end of October. We've played just one month. There's a lot of things that are going to happen ahead of us, especially with the NHL. It shows that everything can happen quickly."
And then Murashov ended by putting a spin on things as only he could.
"At the same time, it's the NHL. You are dreaming to get here (since) childhood, so just embracing every day, accepting it. It's not that romantic as it can look like, but I'm grateful to be here with these teammates, with all these coaches and with this organization."
Yes, the NHL might not be as romantic as some might think. It can even be tough overseer when it comes to the development of young goalies.
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