Apparently, 42 saves does not impress Leon Draisaitl.
The Edmonton Oilers forward brushed aside the big performance from Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs in the Canucks' 4-3 win in Game 3 of their second-round series on Sunday.
"Post is not good goaltending," Draisaitl said when asked if the inability to capitalize on chances is due to them missing the net or Silovs' strong play between the pipes. "We can certainly do a better job of bearing down and capitalizing on our looks."
The Latvian netminder had a big night, stopping 42 shots in the much-needed win. Overall, the Oilers piled on significantly more chances in Game 3, out-shooting the Canucks 45-18, but they couldn't make the most of those looks, hitting the post on multiple occasions.
However, the Oilers as a whole didn't seem to feel a need to adjust their game plan against the 23-year-old goalie, viewing their offence as more than capable of beating the youngster.
"I don't think so," Draisaitl said when asked if they need to alter anything offensively. "I think we got enough guys in here that can put the puck past him. We've shown it so far."
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch added: “He made some big saves, but we think we had him beat a few more times. We hit three or four goal posts and had a few pucks lying behind him."
Silovs, however, got the last laugh on Sunday night. Not only did he come away with the win, but when asked about a save on Draisaitl, he came back with a sly "Which one?" in response.
Though he cleared it up after, saying that he genuinely didn't know which save the the reporter was referring to, it didn't change the fact that he still made multiple clutch stops on the superstar forward.
Since taking his spot in the crease following injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith, Silovs has been a steady presence for the Canucks, earning four wins in six appearances while putting up a 0.908 save percentage and 2.66 goals-against average.
The Oilers will have to solve the Silovs problem — or the post problem — in Game 4 of their series, which takes place on Tuesday.
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