Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith out for playoffs after undergoing surgery
Move over Mr. Game 1. Welcome, Mr. First Round?
Six years ago, Jeff Zatkoff forever earned him a place in Pittsburgh Penguins lore when, as a third-string goalie, he started and won the first game of the first-round playoff series en route to the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup.
A few days ago, some people were calling Louis Domingue the new “Mr. Game 1” after he came on in relief during the second overtime of the playoff opener and earned a win when the Penguins prevailed in the third OT.
But while Zatkoff’s postseason NHL career soon ended because the Penguins eventually got their Nos. 1 and 2 goalies back from injury, the Penguins’ net is all Domingue’s for the foreseeable future after word broke Friday that Casey DeSmith will miss the remainder of the playoffs after undergoing core-muscle surgery.
“I think (Domingue) is really excited,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think he’s excited about the opportunity. He’s played well to this point. He’s a confident kid, and I think that really helps him in this circumstance. But he’s really excited about the opportunity in front of him.”
That opportunity arose unexpectedly after All-Star Tristan Jarry suffered a lower-body injury April 14 (Sullivan said Jarry did not skate Friday, and his status has not changed) followed by DeSmith exiting Tuesday’s Game 1 against the Rangers in New York.
Making his NHL playoff debut, the 30-year-old had stopped 48 of 51 shots he had faced to that point. Without apparent incident a little more than 11 minutes into double-overtime, DeSmith skated over to the Penguins bench and, after consulting with team personnel, skated to the tunnel to the locker room.
Sullivan and general manager Ron Hextall (the latter via a release) used the term “successful” to desribe DeSmith’s surgery, which was performed by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia.
DeSmith missed last season’s playoffs because of injury. Had DeSmith been available, perhaps Sullivan could have turned to him to spark the Penguins during their six-game first-round loss to the New York Islanders.
This time around, Sullivan has little choice but to turn to Domingue. The backup in uniform for Game 2, former undrafted free agent Alex D’Orio, has not appeared in an NHL game and, as recently as March, was playing in the low-minors ECHL.
“Obviously, not an easy spot for him coming in as a young guy like that,” center Teddy Blueger said. “But he looks great (in practice).”
Domingue had played just four regular-season NHL games for three teams over the past three seasons. He made his first career playoff start Thursday in Game 2 but lost a 5-2 decision.
“He’s a really good goalie,” Blueger said. “(Thursday), he was really good and made some big saves for us, kept us in the game. A couple times there, I think he handled the puck really well. Played with confidence. I think we’re all behind him. We know he can get the job done and play well for us.”
Jarry initially was termed “week to week” and was spotted with a cast around his right foot and needing a wheeled cart to get around. He has not been confirmed by the Penguins to have skated yet, suggesting a return to game action — at best — could be more than a week away. The longest this series can extend is May 15.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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