The Penguins are expected to start backup goaltender Casey DeSmith in Friday’s home game against the Detroit Red Wings.
DeSmith has largely struggled this season. In nine games, he has a 3-3-1 record, a 3.58 goals against average and an .886 save percentage.
He has been pulled from his two most recent starts, the last of which came a week ago on Jan. 21 during a 5-2 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. After allowing two goals on 12 shots in the first period of that contest, DeSmith was replaced by top goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Coach Mike Sullivan has been quick to defend DeSmith, who was recently removed the NHL’s protocols for covid-19, and suggested he did not give DeSmith enough time to rebound from the six days he spent in the protocols, much of which took place quarantining in an Anaheim, Calif. hotel while the team was on a western road trip.
Since then, DeSmith had been working with goaltending coach Andy Chiodo to refine his game.
“There’s a number of things that Andy has worked with Casey on these last handful of practices to try to give him a better chance to be successful when he gets in there,” Sullivan said during a video conference with media on Friday. “The fact that he’s gotten a number of days of practice where he’s getting repetitions and getting an opportunity to work out some of the technicalities of his game I think is going to be real beneficial for him.”
DeSmith’s last win came on Jan. 2 when he made 22 saves on 27 shots in an 8-5 home win against the San Jose Sharks.
“Obviously, we’d like to see (DeSmith) gain some traction here,” Sullivan said. “He’s working extremely hard in practice. He’s had a body of work here that’s been impressive. He’s played a lot of sound hockey for us and made timely saves over the years. We know he’s a very capable guy. (DeSmith) would be the first one to admit that he has high expectations of himself. We’re hopeful here that he’ll have a good start tonight. We believe he will. He’s in a good spot mentally. Him and Andy have got in some quality work in during the last few days of practice. We’re trying to put him in a position to be successful.
“If he can gain a little bit of traction, I think it will help his own personal confidence as well. That’s a big part of any athlete’s success. We’re going to try to compete hard in front of him.”
Note: Former Penguins goaltender Thomas Greiss will not dress for the Red Wings as he is still recovering from a bout with covid-19.
