Shilovs vs. McDavids – the Latvian goalkeeper will play in the opening round of the second round of the Stanley Cup

“Canucks” and “Oilers” teams will play the first match of the series in Vancouver. The duel is scheduled to start at 5.00 early Thursday morning Latvian time.

It has already been announced that Canucks’ first goalie Thatcher Demko cannot help the team due to an injury.

Shilov joined the team before the playoffs as an emergency third keeper, but got a chance to play after injuries to Demko and Casey DeSmith.

The Latvian goalkeeper has celebrated two victories in three matches in the Stanley Cup, remaining undefeated in one of them, allowing an average of 1.7 shots and saving 93.8% of shots.

In the first round of the play-offs, the Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 4-2 in the series. Two victories were contributed by Shilov, one success each by Demko and Desmits.

In the first round of the Stanley Cup, the Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in the series.

“Oilers” leader McDavids, who is considered by many to be the best hockey player in the world at the moment, is the most productive player in the “play-off” tournament with 12 points (1+11) in five matches.

Colorado Avalanche defender Kyle Makar (3+9) has collected the same number of points in six “play-off” games.

The winners of the Canucks and Oilers series will play the winners of the Avalanche and Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals.

In his career as an NHL player, the 23-year-old Shilov has played 12 matches, nine of them in the regular season and three in the “play-off” tournament.

Shilov has never faced McDavid before in an NHL game. German hockey star Leon Draisaitl, who has 10 points (5+5) in the play-off, also plays for the “Oilers”.

“Oilers” have so far demonstrated the best performance in the numerical majority in the “play-off” tournament with 45% of opportunities (9 goals scored in 20 majority).

The Edmonton team has also played best in the numerical minority so far, keeping its goal unconquered in five matches (12 out of 12 minorities).

The “Canucks” team lost two goals in 22 numerical minorities (90.9%), while they managed to score only two goals in 13 numerical majorities (15.4%).