2026 Penguins Make a Goaltender Change Ahead of Game Four Against the Flyers
On Saturday, April 25th, Penguins head coach Dan Muse announced that goaltender Arturs Silovs will be starting in goal for Game Four of the Penguins' Eastern Conference First Round matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 25-year-old goalie from Latvia will replace Stuart Skinner, who has started in the Pens' first three games of the series, which they have lost. Skinner has allowed 11 goals in his three starts. Muse is not making this change due to poor play by Skinner. The Penguins' rookie head coach is simply looking for a change of pace and something to give this team a spark. This is similar to when he added right-winger Justin Brazeau back into the line-up for Game Three. While many other line changes are expected for Game Four, Silovs in for Skinner is the only one Muse has confirmed. He said, “Both guys have played very well for us all year, both guys have won big games. The decision isn’t based on Stu’s play.”
Silovs played in 39 games for Pittsburgh during the regular season, posting a record of 19-12-8, while having a .887 save percentage and 3.07 GAA. Compared to Skinner’s 12-9-5 record through 27 games, while recording a .885 save percentage and 2.99 GAA, both goaltenders are very similar. Neither Silovs nor Skinner stands out as the best option for Pittsburgh, and it will really come down to the rest of the team maintaining the aggression they showed in Game Three, when they held a 1-0 lead over the Flyers after the first period. During the regular season, the Penguins struggled tremendously with goalie interference calls, as they won zero of their nine goalie interference challenges and had five goals overturned because of this. Pens fans have been worried about goaltender issues all season, and these overturned calls didn't help anything. Regardless, many fans of the black and gold likely would say they prefer Silovs. When Skinner came over from Edmonton, fans of the Oilers had already given him the nickname ‘Swiss Cheese Skinner’, while Silovs had earned the nickname ‘Arty Party’ from many Pens fans.
Despite both goalies having higher GAA’s and save percentages, Silovs is viewed to be a better goaltender in clutch situations, with an expected increase in team performance whenever he is on the ice. While Skinner came into the playoffs with lots of playoff experience, more than 50 games under his belt, he hasn't shown any increased skill or saviness because of this experience. Silovs came in as a rookie for the Canucks and had an impressive 10-game playoff run for them, going 5-5 and recording a .898 save percentage and 2.91 GAA. Although they have nearly identical regular-season performances, Silovs has faced and stopped more high-danger shots, showing that his ability to be clutch may be more than Skinner’s. It was aware that Pittsburgh would have goalie issues going into the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but their defense hasn’t done enough to help them, and offensively, they’re not scoring enough. As Muse had mentioned, this is not the only change being made to the Penguins' lineup for Game Four, but it may be the most important.
