NEW YORK — Eyebrows raised Tuesday morning at the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ morning skate.

Arturs Silovs was the first goalie off the ice after the optional skate at Madison Square Garden, where the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the New York Rangers, Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Coach Dan Muse confirmed Silovs as the starting goalie in the first game of the season, and did his best to dance around the rather obvious intonation that Silovs is the new Penguins No. 1 goalie.

Well, maybe not No. 1 exactly, perhaps the 1 to a 1-A, but getting the nod on opening night on national television is not a job for the backup.

After stopping himself in mid-answer, Muse made a point to say that goalie Tristan Jarry, the presumptive No. 1 goalie since he claimed the net from Matt Murray in 2021, who then reclaimed the last year after being waived and recalled, would play.

“We looked at a lot of things. I mean, at the end, we feel like–I think both guys–and I should just state this is–we are going to be looking for both guys getting in there at this early part of the season,” Muse said. “And so Tristan will be getting an opportunity here early on for sure. We feel like Silovs was good at camp. And that was a decision that we made.”

Jarry and Silovs each had a wild ride last season that ended better than it started. Jarry and the Penguins approached the league record for goals given up on the first shot of the game. The NHL revised the record several times, and Jarry eventually fell short of the dubious distinction, but the Penguins’ goalie gave up the first goal on the first shot he faced six times, including four times in the first 22 games.

The team waived Jarry in January after his play dipped further. However, after Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist faltered in his first extended NHL action, the team recalled Jarry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Jarry was again the primary goalie over the last 20 games.

Silovs was part of the early-season Vancouver Canucks roster after a rock star-like emergence in the 2023-24 playoffs, in which he rescued the Canucks from a Round One series deficit and helped them take the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 in Round Two.

However, Silovs posted a mere .861 save percentage in his first 10 games last season. Demko was working back from injury and wasn’t ready for the start of the season, but when he was healthy, the planned three-goalie rotation with Silovs, Kevin Lankinen, and Demko became just two as the team sent Silovs back to the AHL.

Silovs then went on a heater with the Abbotsford Canucks, leading them to the Calder Cup, and became the team MVP.

In 24 playoff games, Silovs posted a .931 save percentage, and the Arty Party transferred from Vancouver to Abbotsford.

In July, Vancouver turned down better offers, reportedly from Edmonton, to trade Silovs out of the Pacific Division and to the Penguins.

Now, it appears he is the latest new face to win a spot in the Penguins’ lineup, winning the top spot over Jarry with a preseason performance that largely mirrored the book on him. Silovs can be great, but he can be beaten by long-range shots every so often, too. Both happened in the preseason, while Jarry was indeed a bit shaky, especially in his performance in the final preseason game.

At 30 years old, Jarry’s book is largely written. Now it seems Silovs will get a second chance to begin writing his.

More Changes

In addition to Silovs in net, a handful of new faces will be in the Penguins’ lineup.

Rookies Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel will make their NHL debuts. Defensemen Parker Wortherspoon and Caleb Jones will also be in the lineup, as well as wingers Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau.

And a new head coach, who, like his rookies, had trouble getting to sleep Monday night.

“It was tough getting down to bed,” Kindel admitted.

And a new Penguins era is growing, albeit like a weed through the concrete.

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