Just four months after winning the Calder Cup with the Abbotsford Canucks, Arturs Silovs got his revenge against the team that traded him, the Vancouver Canucks.

Talking to reporters Tuesday night after a 5-1 victory for his Pittsburgh Penguins, the reigning Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner as AHL playoff MVP was happy to win their first meeting.

“It’s always [big] the first time facing my former club and it feels great,” Silovs said. “It feels great to face them.”

At one point, it looked like it’d go the other way. After giving up a goal to Conor Garland on the very first shot of the game (proving that the roots of being a Canuck never leave you), Silovs was perfect the rest of the way, turning aside 23 shots from his former team in the 5-1 win.

“It was a good shot, you know. Like a good clapper, have to give credit to the guy.” Silovs said of Garland’s goal. “But after that, I felt pretty solid.”

Silovs credited the turnaround to his team’s play in the second period, when the Penguins dominated the Canucks in shots 14-3 and scored thrice in just over three minutes.

“I think [our] second period was phenomenal. Managing to score so many goals on [the] power play,” Silovs said. “Good blocks in front took some dangerous shots away. I think it [was a] great effort.”

When asked about how the Penguins have strung together so many wins to start the year – five of their first seven, to be exact – Silovs attributed that to the team’s ability to strike at key points.

“I think there’s just the crucial moments in the game, you know?” Silovs said. “You make one save, good block in the second, and we managed to score straight away. And from there we just took the momentum.”

Part of that momentum came off an early save in the first, when Silovs shut down Evander Kane on a breakaway.

The Latvian netminder kept the secret to that success largely to himself: “Just read the player, outwait him, see what he’s going to do.”

The win gives Silovs three victories in his first four starts, which includes pitching a shutout against the New York Rangers in his Penguins debut. As far as the personal success he’s found with the Pens, Silovs pointed to the adjustments he’s made since arriving in Pittsburgh, which have helped him settle into a regular starting role.

“The work I put in during the summer, during the practices and actually executing and feeling confident in my game, I think it’s great to show that it helps me in the game.”