Penguins get 1st win, defeat Capitals in shootout

Mike Sullivan often professes he has one overriding factor he considers when he crafts his lineup for each and every game he oversees as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ coach.

What players will give his team the best chance to win that particular contest?

On Sunday, with his team seeking its first win of the season in its home opener against the rival Washington Capitals, new franchise goaltender Tristan Jarry was not part of that alchemy.

Instead, Sullivan turned to a goaltender who had not started an NHL game since March 14 … of 2019.

Casey DeSmith made 20 saves on the 23 shots he faced in regulation and overtime then stopped all four shots during a shootout to guide the Penguins to a much-needed 4-3 victory.

“(DeSmith) made some big saves, especially in the shootout,” Sullivan said via video conference. “He was real solid in the shootout. He made some big saves for us. That’s what our expectations are of our goaltenders. When you get the timely save, it gives you a better chance to win. That’s what he did for us today.”

DeSmith, who spent nearly the entire 2019-20 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, didn’t seem overly sentimental about getting his first NHL victory in nearly two years. His concerns were more immediate.

“The only thing I was really focused on was getting a win (Sunday),” DeSmith said. “Obviously, the first period they got two on me. I was just happy I could battle back the rest of the game.”

Much like their road losses against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and Friday, the Penguins had to battle back from early deficits. The only difference Sunday was they won the battle.

After Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues scored his first goal of the season on a deflection 19 seconds into regulation, the Capitals staked a 2-1 lead thanks to forwards Nic Down and Alex Ovechkin each getting their first goals at 12:04 and 14:24 of the first period.

“We weren’t happy with the start whatsoever,” defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “We weren’t hard to play against. We didn’t hold onto pucks. In the second period, we got some long shifts in their zone and that always helps. Created some energy from there. I think just played harder from the back end, played quicker.”

That harder and quicker effort manifested itself into a tying score by forward Colton Sceviour 2:10 of the first period, his first of the season.

After Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom collected his second goal on a four-on-three power-play sequence 10:09 of the second, Pettersson tied it again with a wrister from the slot at the 12:57 mark of the period.

Following scoreless third and overtime periods, the game moved to a shootout. After Penguins defenseman Kris Letang as well as forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were denied by Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov, forward Jake Guentzel tucked a goal through Samsonov’s legs for the winning goal.

DeSmith denied a handful of All-Stars and Olympians including forwards T.J. Oshie, Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ovechkin claim the victory.

His stop on Ovechkin secured victory.

“I figured he was going to shoot,” DeSmith said. “He’s more of a shooter. Usually in shootouts, he tends to shoots more often than deke. I was just able to get enough, and he shot five hole. I saw the puck in my feet, and I was ecstatic.”

The Penguins felt that way for the first time this season. They probably will have a similar feeling once Jarry refines his game.

“I’ve had a couple of conversations with Tristan,” Sullivan said. “I think (sitting is) going to give Tristan an opportunity to reset his mindset, get a couple of workouts with (goaltending coach Mike Buckley). That will be good for Tristan. (Starting DeSmith), we felt, (was) the best decision for our team today. We’ll take each game as it comes, and we’ll try to make those decisions as best we can.”