Who is Arturs Silovs? How a rookie goalie has steadied the Canucks’ playoff run
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — “Take the ball.”
Everything about those three words was an invitation. It was a way to let Arturs Silovs know that although he had already done quite a bit, he could still do so much more, because those around him believed he was capable of more.
Several months have passed since Abbotsford Canucks coach Jeremy Colliton delivered that message. In that time, Silovs has gone from a strong AHL goaltender to one who has won three postseason games for the Vancouver Canucks in one of this year’s unlikeliest situations.
Think about that. Or rather, think about it like this: Silovs is a 23-year-old goalie from Latvia, a nation whose population is smaller than metro Vancouver. For all the questions facing the Canucks about how they’d survive without injured Vezina Trophy finalist Thatcher Demko, they have found answers with Silovs’ ascension.
His first postseason start saw him come away with the victory in a Game 4 overtime win over the Nashville Predators in the first round. He gave the Canucks a chance to win Game 5, only to be one of the biggest reasons they won Game 6 as he recorded a 1-0 shutout to close out the series.
It is the sort of rise that has made him and his actions unavoidable. Silovs’ bold fashion choices led to Canucks alternate captain J.T. Miller donning the goalie’s Hugo Boss paisley T-shirt as a practice sweater. What started as a prank turned into a full-on movement with so many Canucks fans flooding Hugo Boss’ website that the “Interlock-Cotton T-Shirt with Paisley Print,” as it’s called, is sold out. Fans have worn them during games at Rogers Arena — the same Rogers Arena that roared more for Silovs than anyone else announced in the starting lineup despite the fact that he has spent the least amount of time of anyone on the Canucks’ active roster.
All because he took the ball.
“We gave him an opportunity to play three to four games [in a row] or play a back-to-back in both games and be someone that our young group could count on,” Colliton said. “I think to have that responsibility isn’t easy when you yourself are a young player. That’s a part of his growth and what you want to expose guys to as they get to another level.”
Even in such a short time, Silovs has created a discussion about whether the Canucks have something on their hands. Every one of his performances has added to that conversation, while generating a few more talking points.
Exactly who is this man? And is he for real?
Romanticism is rarely in short supply when it comes to athletes arriving at certain stages of their careers. Hockey, or rather, playoff hockey, is no different. Ideas that once seemed far-fetched suddenly appear realistic, as does the possibility that something better might be on the horizon.
Clinging to this sort of hope can be equal parts rewarding and painful. It’s what makes this particular point in the Canucks narrative so emphatic. Promise born out of pain has become the story of a season that has seen a franchise draft star homegrown players and finally build around them in a way that could mark the start of a significant culture change.
This is a point Colliton and Abbotsford goalie coach Marko Torenius stress when it comes to the culture of their parent club and how it feels so up-close-and-personal despite being a 72-kilometer drive away on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Silovs is one of those players who embodies the culture the Canucks are trying to cultivate with their prospects in the hope of creating long-term success.
Every year, NHL teams try to find a physically imposing goalie with athleticism. Silovs and his 6-foot-4 build is just that. As organizations seek to use a farm-to-table approach to build their teams, Silovs is an example of that, too.
And with more franchises using at least two goalies to get through a season, Silovs is an option who understands the balance that comes with wanting to win, while also realizing the dynamics of having one of the NHL’s best netminders at the top of the depth chart.
“In our organization, there’s [Canucks goaltending coach] Ian Clark, who recognizes those talented guys and he has his unique style to scout with his people and they have been finding those talented guys and Arty is one of those guys,” Torenius said. “He has been stepping down that path since he got here. It’s been years since [Clark] brought Arty on that journey, and those last couple seasons have been big steps, but he’s still on that journey to become a better goalie.”
Back in 2019, the Canucks drafted Silovs in the sixth round. He was part of a draft class that saw goalies such as Spencer Knight and Pyotr Kochetkov go ahead of him while Silovs was picked before Dustin Wolf.
Silovs quickly made the transition to North American hockey. The 2019-20 season was his first as a Canucks prospect and that led to him playing for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League, where he won 16 games. He spent the next season playing on loan back in Latvia with a cameo in the AHL that amounted to him playing nine games in a 2020-21 campaign that was still feeling the impact of the pandemic.
The 2021-22 season saw him take another step. He played 10 games in the ECHL, another 10 games in the AHL while finding success on the international stage. Silovs went 3-3 but had a 0.87 goals-against average and a .968 save percentage in his international games that season.
All the patience that was exercised throughout his development saw a breakthrough in 2022-23 when Silovs cemented himself as a full-time AHL goaltender. He parlayed that success into being the goalie who led Latvia to a bronze medal finish with an overtime victory against the United States at the IIHF men’s world championship. That led to him being named the goaltender of the tournament.
The growth he showed last season is why Colliton, among others, challenged him to take the next step in 2023-24. It’s what opened the door for him to get called up to the Canucks when Demko went down with a knee injury back in March. He won three of his four starts and had a 2.58 goals-against average while working in tandem with Casey DeSmith.
Demko started Game 1 with a win, but sustained another injury and hasn’t played since. DeSmith took over in Games 2 and 3 of the first round, but reportedly suffered a lower-body injury along the way, prompting Canucks coach Rick Tocchet to turn to Silovs, who won the necessary games to get them into the second round for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
“He gives us confidence,” Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov said. “It’s not like we’re giving him confidence. You see him stay calm, make big saves. You can see it in his face, his body language — that’s what us in the D-corps talk about. That this guy is ready to play and he’s unreal. It’s not like we’re giving him confidence. He gives us confidence.”
Discussing what has allowed Silovs to become such an improbable figure for the Canucks leads Zadorov to talk about how this has happened before. He mentioned how Jordan Binnington took time to develop and when he was ready, he was one of the biggest reasons why the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
Not that Zadorov was comparing Silovs to Binnington, but his point was that there’s a precedent for goaltenders who might have been largely unknown at one stage of the season becoming a pivotal figure in the playoffs.
That’s another reason Colliton and Torenius underscore the culture the Canucks are trying to implement. Torenius said Clark has made a point of seeking goaltenders who aren’t afraid to work and have a competitive drive, while also emphasizing that every goalie in their system must care about details down to the most granular level.
Torenius explained how it’s about letting goaltenders be who they are as people while also helping them become the sort of players who can turn into significant contributors.
“There is that awareness with how you read the game, how you use your vision, and it’s also that technical part where we want our guys to be on top of the pace of the game,” Torenius said. “You don’t want to be behind the game. We want to be on top and you build those tools over time and with repetition. It gives you a game plan for every individual we have here.”
Winning in the NHL can be achieved in numerous ways. The Canucks’ formula has seen them make the type of free agent signings and trades under general manager Patrik Allvin that have given them options throughout their lineup.
Yet building around a homegrown core is considered the most prominent path toward winning. The Canucks have seen homegrown talent come through and depart, with the current roster including six players they drafted (that doesn’t include the recent influx of Black Aces that joined the team after Abbotsford’s season ended in the playoffs).
Silovs is among those six, and the only one who wasn’t drafted in the first two rounds. Even if his run is brief, it helps show that later-round draft picks can find success in the Canucks system.
“I do think it’s important for the guys who are here to see that success and to see that it’s there, that it’s available,” said Colliton, who coached the Chicago Blackhawks for three-plus seasons. “If you want to put in the work and prepare yourself for your opportunity — we’ve had that a lot. I think it’s very motivating for the guys who are here that it’s a big step, but you’re close if you can keep fighting.”
That visibility isn’t limited to prospects. It’s also on display for an entire nation to observe. Silovs is just the 28th Latvian player and only the sixth Latvian goalie in NHL history, according to QuantHockey. It’s a group that includes former NHL defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and former goaltender Arturs Irbe.
As for Silovs, he’s one of five Latvians to play at least one game this season, a list that includes Canucks center Teddy Blueger, who has the fifth-most points by a Latvian player in NHL history.
Eric Savics, who is the honorary consul for the Latvian Embassy in Vancouver, notes that there is a 10-hour time difference between Vancouver and Riga, the nation’s capital. Even with that gulf in time, he said, many people back home have made a point to watch Silovs because of what it means to the nation.
One of the nation’s daily newspapers, Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze, has posted numerous stories on its website about Silovs. Entering Game 2, the most read story on the site was about how Silovs has turned into a cult figure among Canucks fans on social media. The headline, when translated to English, reads, “‘Give the Latvian god a million dollars!’ A real cult of Silovs is emerging in Vancouver.”
“They would follow him if he was a tennis player, a bowler or God knows what,” said Savics, who was born in Latvia and immigrated to Canada as a child. “As long as he is world class, they will follow whatever he does. That’s the pride of the country and that’s the idea. People there see it as ‘one of our athletes is making it.'”
This could just be the start for Silovs.
What he did in the quarterfinals paved the way for him to start against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference semifinal. Although he allowed four goals, he still made the needed third-period saves to aid his teammates in coming back from a three-goal deficit to complete a 5-4 win to open the series.
Tocchet said between Games 1 and 2 that Silovs had earned the right to start the second game. Tocchet, however, also said DeSmith could be an option for Game 2, only to declare at morning skate of Game 2 that Silovs would start.
Silovs would stop 27 of the 31 shots he faced in the Canucks’ 4-3 overtime loss Friday that tied the series at 1-1. It’s possible that Silovs will remain in net for Game 3 with the understanding that Demko could potentially return by Game 5 at the earliest, according to a report from Daily Faceoff.
“He was really good,” Tocchet said after Game 2. “Arty — I’m really proud of him. I thought he was really good.”
Now that they’ve seen how Silovs has responded to the demands of being a starting goaltender in the playoffs, his performances could also give Allvin and his front office staff a decision to make in the offseason.
Silovs, who earned $786,111 this season, will be a pending restricted free agent. DeSmith, who is a pending unrestricted free agent, made $1.8 million. The Canucks could determine that Silovs and his team-friendly cap hit can be trusted to be Demko’s backup, or they could keep DeSmith or sign another experienced option just to be safe.
Yet the potential savings Silovs provides could allow the Canucks to maximize what CapFriendly projects will be $24.778 million in available space. The Canucks have a pending UFA class that includes Ian Cole, Dakota Joshua, Elias Lindholm, Tyler Myers and Zadorov, while Filip Hronek will become a restricted free agent.
“He knows he has a lot to prove and he has come from afar,” Torenius said of Silovs. “He’s lucky that there are guys like Clarkie who knows what it takes. He has been filtering that information from those guys about how to get to the top level. … When your eyes are open and your ears are open, you can learn something from them and he’s been ready to learn.”
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Alden Gonzalez
The Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t just a baseball team these days. They are a symbol. For fans of the other 29 major league clubs, they are a source of either indignation or longing. For rival owners — and the commissioner who answers to them — they exemplify a widening payroll disparity that must be addressed. For players, and the union that represents them, they are a beacon, embodying all the traits of successful organizations: astute at player development, invested in behind-the-scenes components that make a difference and, most prominently, eager to pump their outsized revenues back into the roster.
The Dodgers employ seven players on nine-figure contracts, with five of those deals reached over the past 15 months. They also have the strongest farm system in the sport, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. Their lineup is loaded and their rotation is decorated, but also their future looks bright and their resources seem limitless. And yet their chief architect, Andrew Friedman, isn’t ready for a victory lap.
“It just doesn’t really land with me in that way,” Friedman, entering his 11th year as the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, said in a recent phone conversation. “I think once I get fired, once there’s like real distance between being mired in the day-to-day and when I’m not, I will be able to look back at those things. But for us right now, it all feels very precarious.
“We’ve seen a lot of really successful organizations that fall off a cliff and take a while to build back. We don’t take any of it for granted.”
Nothing lasts forever. Every empire has fallen, every dynasty has faded. But what the Dodgers have built feels uniquely sustainable. A glaring reminder came last month, when Major League Baseball’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, was asked whether outrage over the Dodgers’ spending reminded him of how fans felt about the star-laden New York Yankees teams of the early 2000s, commonly referred to as “The Evil Empire.”
The current Dodgers, Manfred said, “are probably more profitable on a percentage basis than the old Yankees were, meaning it could be more sustainable, so it is more of a problem.”
The word “problem” depends on one’s perspective. Dodgers fans certainly wouldn’t describe it as such. As the team prepares to begin its season on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs in Japan — a country in which they are revered, in a series sponsored by their ownership group — it’s worth understanding how the Dodgers got here.
It was the result of their process, but it also required several monumental steps over the past dozen years.
Below is a look at their biggest leaps.
Jan. 28, 2013: They signed a media megadeal
At the start of 2013, the Dodgers, less than a year into Guggenheim’s ownership, landed a massive local-media deal spanning 25 years and valued at $8.35 billion, or $334 million annually on average. But for the rest of that decade, it qualified as a massive headache. A stalemate between AT&T and Charter Communications meant more than half the Southern California market was unable to access the team’s channel, SportsNet LA, from 2014 to 2020.
As the impasse continued and tensions escalated, the Dodgers’ media deal came to symbolize a growing clash between sports channels that demand higher fees and content distributors wary of making customers pay for content they do not consume. Now — five years after the two sides finally struck a deal, airing Dodgers games on AT&T video platforms and nearly doubling the number of households to more than 3 million — it exemplifies a growing disparity that is rattling the industry.
The Dodgers’ local-media deal runs longer than most and is more expensive than any other, but here’s the kicker, according to a source familiar with the deal: While most regional sports networks are set up as subsidiaries underneath a corporate entity, leaving them in the lurch when they fall into hard times — like Diamond Sports Group, a former Sinclair subsidiary that was forced into bankruptcy when debt mounted and subscribers fell off — the Dodgers have complete corporate backing from Charter, a massive media conglomerate.
So not only do the Dodgers generate far more in local media than any of their competitors, but at a time when the linear-cable model is drying up and teams face increasing uncertainty with RSN contracts that represent about 20% of revenues, their deal is relatively iron-clad. That is especially valuable considering they’re in a division where three teams — the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies — have lost their local media deals.
Dec. 21, 2018: They swung a trade that streamlined their payroll
Four days before Christmas in 2018, the Dodgers executed a rare salary dump. Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer and cash were sent to the Cincinnati Reds for Homer Bailey, who was promptly released, and two young players who would later help trigger blockbuster acquisitions, Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray. The prospect component was secondary; the real benefit was the money saved, which gave the Dodgers additional wiggle room under the luxury-tax threshold and helped them remain debt-service compliant the following year.
In a bigger sense, it was the culmination of a multi-year effort by the front office to rid the Dodgers of bloated contracts and streamline a payroll that ultimately became burdened by massive deals for players like Kemp, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and Adrián González. The Dodgers’ luxury-tax payroll dropped by about $50 million from 2017 to 2019, by which point only two players — A.J. Pollock and Kenta Maeda — were signed beyond the next two years. In Friedman’s mind, the Dodgers were now free to be aggressive.
“For our first four to five years, it was as much about trying to be as competitive as we could be while getting our future payroll outlook in a better spot,” he said. “At the end of the 2019 season was the first time we had reached that point and were in position to be more aggressive at the top of the free-agent class.”
Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon headlined that offseason’s free-agent class. The Dodgers didn’t come away with either of them.
They would soon make up for it.
Feb. 10, 2020: Mookie Betts became available — and they pounced
The Dodgers engaged in initial trade conversations around Betts leading up to the trade deadline in 2019, but then the Boston Red Sox won five of seven against the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees near the end of July, and suddenly Betts was unavailable. A tone was set nonetheless.
“We knew, with him going into his last year of control, that there was a chance they would look to trade him going into that offseason,” Friedman recalled. “There was a switch in their baseball-operations department, and Chaim Bloom was hired, who I have a good relationship with. I spent a lot of time talking to him in the beginning. For him, it was about getting his feet on the ground and understanding the organizational direction of what they were doing. And it wasn’t until January where he opened the door to engage.”
Friedman, who gave Bloom his first front-office job in Tampa, ultimately landed Betts and David Price for Alex Verdugo, Downs and another position-player prospect in Connor Wong on Feb. 10, 2020. Friedman had long coveted Betts not just for his supreme talent, but for his work ethic and competitive edge and how those qualities seemed to elevate those around him. Within five months, Betts agreed to a 12-year, $365 million extension, eschewing free agency.
March 17, 2022: Freddie Freeman became a surprise free agent addition
When Freeman hit free agency after winning the 2021 World Series with the Braves, Friedman assumed he would simply return to Atlanta. So did everyone else — Freeman included. He was a homegrown star poised to someday get his number retired and have a statue outside Truist Park. But initial conversations barely progressed, and the Dodgers saw an opening.
On the afternoon of Dec. 1, moments before the sport would shut down in the midst of a bitter labor fight, Dodgers players, coaches and executives gathered for Betts’ wedding in L.A. Friedman, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and then-third baseman Justin Turner briefly stepped away to call Freeman. They wanted to leave a lasting impression before an owner-imposed lockout would prohibit communication between teams and players. They wanted to be the last club he heard from.
The message, essentially: Don’t forget about us.
Friedman said he “got off the call feeling like it was incredibly unlikely” that the Dodgers would land Freeman. But when the lockout ended on March 10, the Braves and Freeman’s then-agent, Casey Close, still couldn’t bridge the gap, either on length or value. Four days later, the Braves traded for another star first baseman in Matt Olson, leaving Freeman stunned. Three days after that, he pivoted to the Dodgers, coming to terms on a six-year, $162 million contract.
2022-23 offseason: They sat out the shortstop market
When Corey Seager became a free agent at the end of the 2021 season, the Dodgers had a ready-made replacement in Trea Turner, who had been acquired with Max Scherzer the previous summer in a deal that sent Gray and three other minor leaguers to the Washington Nationals. But when Turner himself became a free agent a year later, the Dodgers did nothing to shore up one of the sport’s most important positions.
Turner became part of a historic class of free-agent shortstops, along with Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson. The Dodgers didn’t pursue any of them, even though they didn’t have a clear replacement. The Dodgers could have avoided years of uncertainty at this position by locking in a proven star, but doing so was hardly entertained.
The reason is now obvious.
“With where we were commitment-wise,” Friedman said, “and with Shohei [Ohtani] coming up the next offseason, it was just a higher bar to clear for us to do something that would have any negative ability for us to pursue Shohei.”
Dec. 11, 2023: Ohtani chose them
By the time Ohtani became a free agent in November of 2023, the Dodgers’ roster was loaded but their payroll was manageable, with only Betts and Freeman guaranteed beyond the next two seasons. The Dodgers could boast a contending team — with two franchise pillars and a wealth of young talent — but also pitch Ohtani on the promise of adding other impact players around him, regardless of his monstrous contract. It worked.
Now, Dec. 11, 2023, stands as one of the most monumental dates in Dodgers history. Ohtani not only joined the Dodgers that day, but he agreed to defer more than 97% of his 10-year, $700 million contract. The Dodgers have become infamous for their propensity to defer money, a mechanism to provide players with a higher guarantee but, given the ability to invest deferred commitments, is mostly beneficial to the Dodgers (though perhaps not as much as one might think).
Ohtani’s deal was followed by the addition of two frontline starters — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who landed a contract worth $325 million, and Tyler Glasnow, who was acquired via trade and subsequently signed a five-year extension worth close to $140 million. Ohtani didn’t pitch in 2024, but he put together one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history, starting the 50/50 club and becoming the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP.
Just as important, from the Dodgers’ perspective: He generated massive amounts of revenue.
Ohtani had MLB’s top-selling jersey by a wide margin. With him on the roster, the Dodgers struck sponsorship agreements with 11 different Japanese companies during the 2024 season. Two Ohtani bobblehead giveaways prompted fans to line up outside Dodger Stadium up to 10 hours before the first pitch. Japanese guided tours through the ballpark — a twice-a-day, four-day-a-week addition — never relented. The gift shops frequently had lines out the door.
The Dodgers won’t disclose how much additional revenue they generated from Ohtani last year, but team president Stan Kasten has repeatedly said it blew away even their most optimistic projections.
Oct. 9, 2024: They survived Game 4 of the NLDS
It’s amazing, given the space the Dodgers currently occupy, that five months ago they carried a reputation as, well, chokers. Their championship at the end of the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season had been thoroughly dismissed for its unconventionality. More prevalent in the general public’s mind was 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, seasons that ended with talented teams getting eliminated early by inferior opponents.
The 2024 season was quickly headed in that direction. On Oct. 9, the Dodgers trailed a Padres club that was widely considered more well-rounded two-games-to-one in the best-of-five National League Division Series. Their depleted rotation had run out of starters. They would stage a bullpen game with their season on the line. And they would survive. The Dodgers shut out the Padres in Game 4, shut them out again in Game 5, then cruised past the New York Mets and Yankees to capture their first full-season championship since 1988.
What followed was a second straight offseason in which the Dodgers added practically every player they wanted. That included a frontline starter (Blake Snell), two corner outfielders (Teoscar Hernandez and Michael Conforto), three premium bullpen pieces (Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates and Blake Treinen), two fan favorites (Clayton Kershaw and Kiké Hernández) and one of the most alluring pitching prospects in a generation (Roki Sasaki). A key utility player (Tommy Edman) was also extended. The cost: another $466.5 million in guaranteed money, immediately after an offseason in which they guaranteed close to $1.4 billion in signings and extensions.
Roberts, fresh off a record-setting extension, has talked about how he might have been fired had he not navigated his Dodgers past the Padres last fall. Friedman acknowledged that the Dodgers probably don’t spend as much if they don’t win the World Series and generate the extra revenue that comes from it, though he called that “a lazy guess.”
Still, when asked how often he has thought about how life would be different if the Dodgers hadn’t won Game 4 of the 2024 NLDS, Friedman said: “Zero minutes.”
“We have been on the good side of those games and on the bad side of those games,” he added, “and I’ve spent zero minutes thinking about what the world would look like if the outcome had been different.”
All that matters now is a reality that exhilarates their fans and infuriates everyone else: The Dodgers look about as insurmountable as a franchise can be in this sport.
The Boston Bruins‘ approach to the trade deadline indicated that perhaps management thought this wasn’t their year, and they would add some future assets for a quick reload this offseason.
But as the chips fall on Monday, the Bruins still have a chance to make the playoffs.
That all begins with a game against the lottery-bound Buffalo Sabres Monday night (7 p.m., ESPN+). A win in that one closes the gap between Boston and the current first wild card, the New York Rangers. The Rangers have 72 points and 30 regulation wins through 68 games, while Boston is at 68 and 23 through 68.
After Buffalo, it’s a road trip through Nevada and California (Golden Knights on Thursday, Sharks on Saturday, Kings on Sunday and Ducks on Wednesday, March 26). All told, the Bruins will play teams currently in playoff position in six of the final 13 games after the matchup with the Sabres; the final five, in particular, could be a spot to make up ground, with two against the injury-struck Devils along with single games against the Sabres, Blackhawks and Penguins.
To be clear, this would be a long shot; in addition to going on a hot streak, the Bruins will need to jump ahead of four teams (which would all need to get cold, in this hypothetical). Stathletes isn’t so sure all of that will fall into place, giving the Bruins a 2.4% chance of making the postseason. But stranger things have happened in recent seasons!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Yesterday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 New York Rangers
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 Vancouver Canucks
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings
Monday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.
New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m.
Calgary Flames at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Kings at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m.
Sunday’s scoreboard
Detroit Red Wings 3, Vegas Golden Knights 0
Colorado Avalanche 4, Dallas Stars 3 (OT)
Edmonton Oilers 3, New York Rangers 1
New York Islanders 4, Florida Panthers 2
St. Louis Blues 7, Anaheim Ducks 2
Utah Hockey Club 3, Vancouver Canucks 1
Winnipeg Jets 3, Seattle Kraken 2 (OT)
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 14
Points pace: 102.5
Next game: @ CBJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 16
Points pace: 100.6
Next game: vs. PHI (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 16
Points pace: 100.6
Next game: vs. CGY (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 16
Points pace: 95.7
Next game: @ MTL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 98.8%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 16
Points pace: 88.2
Next game: vs. OTT (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 20.2%
Tragic number: 32
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 15
Points pace: 85.7
Next game: @ WSH (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 5.3%
Tragic number: 29
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: vs. BUF (Monday)
Playoff chances: 2.4%
Tragic number: 25
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 73.2
Next game: @ BOS (Monday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 21
Metro Division
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 15
Points pace: 117.5
Next game: vs. DET (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 15
Points pace: 105.3
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 14
Points pace: 94.1
Next game: @ CBJ (Monday)
Playoff chances: 95.7%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 14
Points pace: 86.8
Next game: vs. CGY (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 53.2%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 16
Points pace: 87.0
Next game: vs. NJ (Monday)
Playoff chances: 16.7%
Tragic number: 31
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 16
Points pace: 84.5
Next game: @ PIT (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 6.4%
Tragic number: 29
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Points pace: 78.4
Next game: vs. NYI (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0.8%
Tragic number: 21
Points: 64
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Points pace: 77.2
Next game: @ TB (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0.5%
Tragic number: 21
Central Division
Points: 98
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 14
Points pace: 118.2
Next game: @ VAN (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 16
Points pace: 108.1
Next game: vs. ANA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 14
Points pace: 102.5
Next game: @ TOR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 15
Points pace: 96.7
Next game: vs. LA (Monday)
Playoff chances: 91%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Points pace: 88.0
Next game: @ NSH (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 32.5%
Tragic number: 29
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 15
Points pace: 86.9
Next game: @ EDM (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 17%
Tragic number: 29
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 16
Points pace: 72.1
Next game: vs. STL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 18
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 15
Points pace: 60.0
Next game: vs. SEA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 7
Pacific Division
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 15
Points pace: 105.3
Next game: vs. BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 15
Points pace: 100.4
Next game: vs. UTA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.8%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 17
Points pace: 102.2
Next game: @ MIN (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.8%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 15
Points pace: 89.3
Next game: vs. WPG (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 41.1%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 89.6
Next game: @ TOR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 18.7%
Tragic number: 33
Points: 65
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 15
Points pace: 79.6
Next game: @ DAL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 23
Points: 63
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Points pace: 76.0
Next game: @ CHI (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 19
Points: 45
Regulation wins: 13
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Points pace: 54.3
Next game: vs. CAR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 1
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
Points: 45
Regulation wins: 13
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 21
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 21
Points: 63
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 64
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 65
Regulation wins: 21
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 24
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 24
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 24
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 24
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