So the Canucks were a product of PDO all this time? Or are they still a legitimate contender?

[strattonius]

Svilovs stepped in admirably but he's not demko. Anybody who watched demko in the playoffs against Vegas a few years back almost singlehandedly pulling the Canucks through that series will remember just how big of an impact he could put on a series.

It reminds me of when the Habs lost price in the semi finals and brought in tokarski. Again, tolarski was fine in his own right but the mindset and complexion of the team changes when you go from an elite goalie to an unknown.

It's hard to argue that a healthy demko isn't the marginal difference required at that time, but now the Canucks have another issue which is whether demko is durable enough moving forward and whether he's still the same guy.

Team also plays different in front of a rookie as opposed to a Vezina calibre goalie that's been there all year.

Vancouver protected Silovs really well at the expense of creating offensive opportunities. The series would've been completely different with Demko. And by the end of the series, Silovs was allowing point shots with low traffic in pretty easily.

 

[TheOrangeDesk]

Team also plays different in front of a rookie as opposed to a Vezina calibre goalie that's been there all year.

Vancouver protected Silovs really well at the expense of creating offensive opportunities. The series would've been completely different with Demko. And by the end of the series, Silovs was allowing point shots with low traffic in pretty easily.

game 7 Canucks had 4 shots to oilers 22 half way through that game. but sure, blame the goalie

 

[strattonius]

game 7 Canucks had 4 shots to oilers 22 half way through that game. but sure, blame the goalie

I don't know if the Canucks win the series with Demko. You gotta think it would be a favorable addition to their chances though.

Silovs rose to the occasion in the playoffs last year because he was a completely green rookie that was thrown in to the playoff hotbed. All things considered he did a really good job, but Silovs is a flawed goaltender and a lot of holes in his game were exposed as the series went on. Not really all that surprising and I am not blaming him.

 

[HockeyVirus]

With hindsight, it seems the answer is yes. Last year is a clear outlier for them.