Abbotsford Canucks Live: Who will be latest hero in Game 2 of Calder Cup finals?
Who is the real Danila Klimovich?
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The mercurial Abbotsford Canucks right-winger has gone from Calder Cup playoffs lineup afterthought to talk of the town. He has two dramatic overtime goals and his latest propelled the AHL affiliate of the parent Vancouver Canucks to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven league championship series.
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It's the stuff of dreams.
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Kilmovich's second extra-session strike came midway through the second overtime Friday. It was a quick pivot off the side boards, and then unloading a power play wrister from the faceoff dot that found the post and then the net, to cap a stunning 4-3 decision.
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'They (Checkers) came as advertised and are extremely aggressive on the penalty kill and got a number of quality looks the other way,' said Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra. 'The fact we were able to stall it out and recover a puck was huge for us.
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'The mindset in overtime is getting pucks to the net and Klimo (Klimovich) did a good job.'
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Game 2 against the Charlotte Checkers goes Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in North Carolina.
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It was evident in the opener Friday that the Canucks must start better, play at a higher pace, and have somebody rise to the occasion once again. They were outshot 54-30 in Game 1, including 16-7 in the first overtime, and standout goaltender Arturs Silovs is a big reason why the Canucks have got to this place.
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His string of superlative performances include five post-season shutouts, one shy of the AHL record. It was established by former Canucks goaltender Mika Noronen in backstopping the Rochester Americans to the league title in 2000. Silovs also has a 1.94 goals-against average and .931 saves percentage in 19 post-season starts of his impressive run. He'll be tested again Sunday.
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'They (Checkers) are a volume shooting team and it's not shocking with their totals, but we have to limit the number of quality chances they're getting, admitted Malhotra. 'The skate really well apply a lot of pressure. Arty came up with huge saves late in the game to keep us in it (Friday).'
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As for the opportunistic Klimovich, he also played unlikely hero in the Western Conference final series against the Texas Stars. He roofed home a high backhander at 3:21 of the second overtime on June 4 to give the Canucks a 3-1 series lead. The big winger was scratched for the first three games of that series.
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Klimovich, 22, has another year left on his entry level contract to build his game. He had 25 goals and 38 points in 65 regular-season games in 2024-25 and has three goals in 11 playoff games. He has always been a curiosity from the moment the Canucks made the Belarus native and junior level sharpshooter a surprise second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
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He could score, but could he be responsible and gain trust of the coach? Those 28 goals in 37 games of a second-tier Belarus junior loop in 2021, and six goals in five games at the world Under-18 in 2021, look good on paper.
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