Even in a 56-game NHL season, it’s still early for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They are 2-2 after their first four games. So, it’s far too soon to start a goalie controversy.
Nor should a decision to leave Casey DeSmith in the net for Game 5 of the season against the New York Rangers on Friday night be construed as starting down that road.
After all, he was the guy between the pipes for the Penguins’ two victories while Tristan Jarry absorbed the two losses to Philadelphia. If head coach Mike Sullivan is inclined to leave the hot hand in the starting lineup until he loses, so be it. After practice Thursday, he didn’t give any sort of indication as to who would start against New York.
But I’d go with Jarry. And I don’t think it’s all that hard of a choice, honestly.
Jarry was tabbed as the team’s No.1 goalie before the season. The franchise put enough faith in him as such that it traded Matt Murray to Ottawa. There has never been any indication from the club that it views DeSmith as anything but a backup.
So don’t let Jarry wither on the vine too long. And don’t let his mind start racing with self-doubt after what would be a full week off from starting if DeSmith gets the call Friday.
Plus, let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not like the Penguins won the Capitals games due to DeSmith’s goaltending. Yes, he made some big saves, including a stuff of former teammate Carl Hagelin on a 3-0 breakaway. And we all loved this pass he made to Teddy Blueger on a 3-on-5 shorthanded goal.
Casey DeSmith, WOW. Teddy Blueger, WOW. #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/PlH0dJpprN
— NHL (@NHL) January 20, 2021
DeSmith was great in the shootout portion of Sunday’s overtime victory, too. But he only needed to make 20 saves in regulation and 22 on Tuesday — allowing seven goals over the two games.
At times, DeSmith allowed some dangerous rebounds, and the Capitals also were able to exploit his lack of size.
The Penguins won the Tuesday game because their stars showed up and put the puck in the net. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel all scored. And they won Sunday’s game because they got a surprising surge of secondary scoring from Colton Sceviour, Marcus Pettersson and Evan Rodrigues.
DeSmith was decent. Good enough to beat Ilya Samsonov one night and Vitek Vanecek the other. Aside from the shootout period, I wouldn’t go so far as to say his goaltending was difference-making, though.
Granted, Jarry wasn’t sharp against the Flyers, allowing nine goals in the first two games. But I’d argue that he didn’t get much help either, and it’s time to get him going again.
That said, TribLive columnist Mark Madden disagreed with me on that topic recently. TribLive Penguins beat writer Seth Rorabaugh did as well in Friday’s “Breakfast with Benz” podcast.
“DeSmith is playing better right now,” Rorabaugh said. “They are very comfortable with the idea of letting Tristan Jarry get some extra work in practice.
“There’s a reason why every team has a goaltending coach. To help either goaltender. To help them iron out rough patches or wrinkles in their game. Assuming nothing unforeseen happens between (Thursday afternoon) and Friday, I would expect them to stick with Casey DeSmith for that game.”
Rorabaugh and I got into several different topics in our weekly hockey podcast. Specifically, a look at injuries on the Penguins blueline, Pierre-Olivier Joseph’s potential debut and initial impressions of the Rangers in 2021.
Listen: Tim Benz talks Penguins with Seth Rorabaugh on “Breakfast with Benz”
