DeSmith Comes In Cold; Stays Hot
By
Michelle Crechiolo
Penguins Team Reporter
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Tristan Jarry left the game after the first period of Pittsburgh's 2-1 win over the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury.
"Tristan is being evaluated right now," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I don't really have a lot of details for you at this point and I can't even really pinpoint when it might have happened. But obviously, it was something the medical staff felt strongly enough about to take him out of the game."
He was replaced by Casey DeSmith, who made 19 saves in relief to help the Penguins earn the victory. He was named the game's No. 1 star and was given the player of the game helmet.
"I thought Casey did a tremendous job coming in," Sullivan said. "That's not an easy position to put a goaltender in, and I thought he did a terrific job for us."
After finding out a couple of minutes into the intermission that he would be entering the game, DeSmith said he tried to get his legs going as much as he could off the ice and did some juggling with his tennis balls.
After leading the team onto the ice, DeSmith did some crease movement, and that was about it until the puck dropped. He was immediately tested as the Islanders made quite the push to start the period, outshooting the Penguins 9-1 in the opening minutes.
"(Second) time this year I've had to go in cold, but I got warm real quick there with a flurry at the beginning of the second," he said with a laugh.
Casey DeSmith speaks with the media.
While the Islanders were able to net one on the power play, that was all they were able to get past DeSmith, who was sharp and strong as he helped the Penguins preserve the lead to extend their unbeaten streak to 5-0-1.
After earning a shutout in his last appearance, DeSmith has now allowed just one goal against in his last 152:14 of play. He has also allowed two or less goals in seven straight appearances, and dating back to Feb. 1, he has a .951 save percentage.
It's been quite the redemption tour for DeSmith, who ended up spending the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after signing a three-year contract with Pittsburgh.
But that's what happened after Jarry's breakout All-Star season, and DeSmith was proud of how he handled the situation. He was pleased with his numbers and consistency, along with the positive attitude he was able to keep through some tough stretches.
DeSmith returned to Pittsburgh this season feeling confident and comfortable - both on the ice and off the ice, with him saying he's got a lot of close buddies on the team - and it's resulted in a great season for the 29-year-old.
"It feels really good and special," he said. "Obviously last year was not what I drew up in my mind, but just tried to work hard down there and stick with it and be a good teammate and stuff like that. Now that I'm back up here, I'm kind of reaping the benefits of the hard work I put in last year."
Speaking of close buddies, DeSmith's good friend Emil Larmi - who has split his season between Pittsburgh's taxi squad and WBS - ended up serving as the emergency backup.
This season, the NHL requires that one goalie must be on the taxi squad in the event there are less than three netminders on the active roster, and that goalie must be available for all home and road games.
Larmi got dressed and came down to the bench for a brief moment, but had to return to the locker room. Sullivan said that because Larmi isn't technically on the active roster, he's not allowed on the bench, per NHL protocol.
"At the first TV timeout I went over to the bench and was like, where's Larms?" DeSmith said with a laugh. "But apparently he couldn't sit on the bench tonight … It's been good having him around. My disc golf buddy is back. It's nice being able to practice with him during pregame skates and stuff."
The Penguins are scheduled to have a day off on Tuesday, so any updates on Jarry won't come until after the team practices on Wednesday. Regardless of what the situation ends up being, DeSmith is ready to keep going in whenever his number is called and continue producing some excellent hockey for the Penguins.
"I don't think it's anything too serious. We'll obviously have to see, but I've been playing well and I think I could step into that role if the team needs it," said DeSmith, who did just that in the 2018-19 season when Matt Murray missed significant time due to injuries. "Looking forward to the challenge if that is indeed the case."
