WHL Playoffs | Silvertips' Leland Irving is steady in the net

EVERETT — Leland Irving is well aware of the pressure of being a goaltender in the playoffs, and he's ready to shoulder the burden for the Everett Silvertips.

Irving, the first round draft pick of the Calgary Flames in 2006, knows he'll have to be on top of his game for the Silvertips to upset the Spokane Chiefs in the opening round of the Western Hockey League playoffs that begin tonight in Spokane.

Even though the Chiefs finished with 26 more standings points than Everett in the regular season, the Silvertips won the season series.

"I'm definitely happy with my game right now," Irving said after a second half resurgence. "My confidence has been where I want it to be since Christmas."

Irving will try to keep his game simple against the Chiefs.

"I don't want to overcomplicate things. I just want to keep letting the puck hit me like it has over the last few months," Irving said.

"We had a good turnaround in the second half and we know when all our guys are going we can compete with anybody."

Everett was the hottest team in the WHL for most of the second half of the season but dropped its last five games in a row, a factor Irving said won't matter in the first-round series.

Everett coach John Becanic said his team will need Irving at the top of his game.

"If Irv is really good, we have a lot of confidence," Becanic said.

Rather than see that as pressure, Irving sees it as a confidence-booster.

"It's no secret in the playoffs, especially in the NHL, that the team that wins the Stanley Cup usually has the top goaltender," Irving said. "In the playoffs you have to grind it out, keep working hard and have a good goaltender."

The two teams also met in the first round last season with Everett going in as the big favorite. The Silvertips won 4-2 in a very competitive series before being upset by Prince George in the second round.

Due to the NCAA women's basketball tournament being played at the Spokane Arena, the series will have a 2-3-2 format with the Silvertips able to close out the series at home if they can get a split in the first two games in Spokane.