The Abbotsford Canucks are on the brink of greatness after their 3-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Thursday. They now have a 3-1 series lead and can clinch the Calder Cup tonight in front of their raucous crowd at Abbotsford Centre. Throughout the playoffs, they have been led by three names, Arturs Silovs, Linus Karlsson and Arshdeep Bains, and while there is probably a clear frontrunner for the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (American Hockey League Playoff MVP), it could also easily be split between the trio. If not for Silovs’ lights-out goaltending and Karlsson and Bains’ offensive contributions, the Canucks would not be where they are today. Basically, the definition of an MVP.
Arturs Silovs
At this point, it doesn’t seem like the Arty Party is ever going to end. Silovs has been dialed in since Game 1 of the first round against the Tucson Roadrunners and is the clear favourite for the MVP award. His numbers are otherworldly at this point as he’s posted a 1.94 goals-against average (GAA) and .923 save percentage (SV%) along with five shutouts. In the Final alone, he has a .943 SV% – basically a brick wall. He has been in the net for all 15 of the Canucks wins and has easily won the goalie duel with veteran Kappo Kahkonen, who also came into the Final with superb numbers and had only lost two games.
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If Silovs can continue his streak of clutch goaltending in series-clinching games, he will likely become the 18th goaltender in AHL history to win the Calder Cup and the Jack A Butterfield Trophy, joining the likes of NHL stars Carey Price, Robin Lehner, Olaf Kolzig, and Jeff Hackett.
Linus Karlsson
A close second to Silovs in the MVP category is Karlsson, who has been on fire since the playoffs began. He leads the league in goals (11) and points (23) heading into Game 5 and has points in 18 of the 22 games Abbotsford has played. No team has been able to slow him down, including the usually defensively stout Checkers, who had only allowed 21 goals heading into the Final. He already has two goals and six points in the series and is currently riding a three-game point streak, with his best coming in Game 3’s 6-1 laugher, where he had a goal and four points.
Karlsson looks like he’s ready for a full-time role in the NHL at this point, and the Canucks seem to think so as well, giving him a one-year, one-way extension on March 13. He will be given every opportunity to make the lineup out of training camp and could join Bains on the fourth line next season, possibly even alongside Max Sasson, who has also been lights out in the playoffs.
Arshdeep Bains
Finally, there’s Bains, who has jumped into the MVP conversation recently with his play in the Western Conference Final against the Texas Stars and the Calder Cup Final against the Checkers. The Surrey native is on a heater with five goals in his last five games – including three in the Final – and 13 points in his last 10 games. Before he scored his first of the postseason in Game 5 versus the Stars, he had gone 16 games without a goal, going back to his last one against the Ontario Reign on April 19. He has gotten hot at the right time, stepping up and providing the offence and wow-factor that is required from someone on the top line.
Bains also had a monster performance in that 6-1 victory in Game 3, with two goals and four points, and added another in Game 4 on a highlight-reel solo dash where he danced defenceman Matt Kiersted and slid it five-hole on Kahkonen. Like Karlsson, he has made a case to be part of the regular lineup in Vancouver next season, not a yo-yo like he’s been during the past two.
One Win Away…
If the Canucks win the Calder Cup tonight, it will be on the backs of Silovs, Karlsson and Bains. I would bet at least one of them will be a star in front of the Abbotsford Centre crowd and not only raise the Calder Cup, but also take home the Jack A Butterfield Trophy as the playoff MVP. Buckle up Canucks fans, it should be a good one.
