Penguins goalie Louis Domingue relishes 'dream' role in overtime win

NEW YORK — Pittsburgh Penguins reserve goaltender Louis Domingue was chased out of his seat twice Tuesday during Game 1 of a first-round series against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

The first time came at the Penguins bench.

As the league’s oldest venue, Madison Square Garden has cramped quarters, even for where each team sits.

Domingue tried to claim a chair near the visiting bench to open the contest but was chased to the runway where the Zamboni machines enter and exit.

“I started on the bench, but I got kicked out,” Domingue said. “Not a lot of room. I guess tickets are more expensive right next to the glass.”

Eventually, Domingue gave up his seat in the runway as well.

That’s because he had to enter the game.

In the second overtime period.

With No. 2 goaltender Casey DeSmith coming up lame with an undisclosed injury, Domingue was pressed into service at the 9 minutes, 18 seconds mark of the fifth overall period of play.

Appearing in the second postseason game of his NHL career, Domingue stopped all 17 shots he faced and allowed his team to come away with a delirious 4-3 road win as well as his first career playoff victory.

“It was a lot coming at me fast,” Domingue said. “But it’s something that you prepare for as a backup. You’ve got to be ready at all times. The guys played super well in front of me for the time that I was in there.”

Domingue, who appeared in two games during the regular season, was in there because the men ahead of him on the depth chart — DeSmith and starter Tristan Jarry — are hobbled by injury. Jarry has not played since April 14 because of a right foot injury.

The 30-year-old Domingue initially thought he was being ribbed when DeSmith went to the bench in distress.

“I know (two of the officials) — (lineman) Johnny Murray and (referee) Frederick L’Ecuyer, both French (Canadian) guys — and I honestly thought they were joking with me when they were saying that I was going to have to go in,” said Domingue, a native of Quebec. “After that, you just go out there and play. It was crazy. But I guess that’s my life. It’s hockey.”

A journeyman who has played for six NHL clubs over eight seasons, Domingue understands and fully embraces the inconvenience his role demands.

“You’re either ready or you’re not,” Domingue said. “You just go in and you play. It’s no different than going in for a practice. You sit in on a meeting, and you go on and you practice. I do that every day. I was ready. I was mostly excited.”

His teammates certainly were excited by what he provided them.

“I know Louis is unbelievable,” said Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, who scored the winning goal in the third overtime period. “He’s big. He’s fast. I’m not nervous. It’s hard to score on Louis in practice. … He’s maybe cold a little bit (coming into the game), but he (had saves) right away, a couple of times, and we feel a little bit fine.”

Domingue felt fine most of his time on the ice. Especially after swallowing up a wrister from Rangers star defenseman Adam Fox four seconds after he replaced DeSmith.

“A shot in the belly is exactly what you need to get into a game like that,” Domingue said. “We played hard for the time that I was in there. It’s different when you’re on the other side of the glass. But I definitely felt like we battled hard for a point.”

That puck wasn’t the only thing in Domingue’s belly.

So was dinner.

He admitted to eating the team’s planned postgame meal between the first and second overtime periods.

“Spicy pork and broccoli,” Domingue said. “I needed something in my belly. I wasn’t in yet. What are you going to do? In the room. It was ready for after the game, after the third period.”

Considering he was a spectator for the first four-and-a-half periods — roughly — Domingue also admitted to struggling to stay focused on the minutia of the contest.

“I’d be lying if I said I was engaged the whole time,” Domingue said. “There comes a time where you’re just a fan also. You just want your team to score.”

Domingue seems pretty happy just to have a team.

After struggling to get on the ice with the Calgary Flames during the 2020-21 season, he admitted to not believing in himself.

The Penguins believed in his potential enough to sign him to a one-year, two-way contract late into the 2021 offseason — early September — and brought him to training camp with hopes he would secure the third goaltending position.

“He’s a goalie that’s shown an ability to have success at this level,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s an NHL goalie. He’s played a significant amount of games at this level, and he’s shown an ability to have success. That’s what our management and hockey (operations department) recognized. The depth in all the positions is so critically important in this time of year, and we’re living it right now. That’s the importance of that number three goalie in the event that you have to go with him.”

The Penguins ended up having to go with him in two NHL games this past regular season, and he went 1-1-0. Those figures might have been higher were it not for a right foot injury that hobbled him from January until March.

After Jarry was injured, Domingue — one of only 10 right-catching goaltenders in franchise history — was recalled to the NHL level late in the regular season.

Eight months after the Penguins took a chance on him, he might very well be their starting goaltender for Game 2 of the first round.

“It was one of my goals to be up here for the playoffs,” Domingue said. “You never know how things are going to unfold. But I wanted to be back in the NHL this year. I think I put in the effort to get back. After that, I had a few opportunities here and there. It was a matter of taking it. I’m pretty happy to be where I am today. I’m lucky to be playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Obviously, it’s a (heck) of a team. I feel pretty lucky to be here.”

“You dream about that your whole life. You’re playing in overtime in the playoffs. Are you kidding me? You’d think that you would be nervous but it was just fun for me.”