Tristan Jarry didn't have the heaviest workload in the first period of Monday's game against the Islanders at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins held the Islanders to just five shots through the first 20 minutes, and Jarry stopped all five.
There wasn't any indication that Jarry was physically feeling any ill effects from anything that happened in the first period.
So it was a bit of a surprise when Casey DeSmith led the Penguins onto the ice for the start of the second period, with no sign of Jarry anywhere.
Jarry didn't return for the remainder of the game, and after the game Mike Sullivan said that Jarry was being evaluated for an upper-body injury.
"I don't really have a lot of details for you at this point, and I can't even really pinpoint when it might have happened," Sullivan said. "But obviously it was something that the medical staff felt strongly enough about to take him out of the game."
DeSmith said that he learned "a couple of minutes" into the intermission that he'd be finishing the game, the first time this season that he's had to come in in relief of Jarry. He spent the rest of the period "getting the legs going," juggling some tennis balls, and doing what he could to get ready.
"It was the first time this year I think that I've had to go in cold," he said. "But I got warm real quick there with a flurry at the beginning of the second."
The Islanders were down 2-0 when DeSmith took over after first-period goals from Anthony Angello and Jared McCann, and the Islanders started the middle frame with a heavy push to try to get on the board. They outshot the Penguins 9-1 in the opening minutes of the period.
DeSmith was beaten 9:22 into the period off a power play goal from Matt Martin, ending a five-game perfect streak for the Penguins' penalty kill:
It was the only shot to get by DeSmith for the rest of the game. He stopped 19 of 20 shots in the final two periods to help carry the Penguins to a 2-1 win over the Islanders. He was named the game's No. 1 star for his efforts, although he didn't officially get credit for the win on the box score since the Penguins' second goal was scored while Jarry was still in net.
The stats might not accurately represent how big DeSmith's contributions were in this game, but his teammates and Sullivan sure recognize what DeSmith did for the win.
"I thought Casey did a tremendous job coming in," Sullivan said. "That's not an easy position to put a goaltender in, and I thought Casey did a terrific job for us."
"Yeah, that's not easy," McCann said with a laugh. "Case, he battles. That's the best way to describe him. He's a battler. Even in practice, you see him out there staying late. He's always ready. He's a guy that we trust a lot. ... We're very confident in Casey."
DeSmith has given them reason to be confident this season.
A couple of times now this year I've used the stat "goals saved above expected," or "GSAx," I just think it's the best metric to measure how a goaltender is performing. Essentially, the "expected goals" stat takes into account the quantity and quality of shots in a game and assigns each shot (based on angle, distance, type of shot, etc.) a value based on its statistical likelihood to turn into a goal. If you take the end result of expected goals against any particular goaltender and subtract the actual goals allowed, you get a good idea of how a goalie is faring given his workload, since it accounts for the team's defense in front of him. If the result is a positive number, then the goalie isn't allowing as many goals as would be expected given his workload. If the result is a negative number, he's allowing more than he should when taking into account the quality of shots he faces. Entering Monday's game, DeSmith was the No. 7 goaltender in the league when looking at how he's handled his workload:
"He's a guy who has really earned his spot on this team," McCann said. "We have the utmost confidence in him moving forward here. As a team we have to play better in front of him sometimes. But when there's a big save to be made, he's there for us."
"You know what you're going to get with him," John Marino said of DeSmith. "He's been great for us."
The Penguins have a scheduled day off on Tuesday, so we likely won't learn more about Jarry's status until Wednesday's practice. If Jarry does happen to miss any time, DeSmith feels ready to take on a more significant role until Jarry is able to return.
"I don't think it's anything too serious," DeSmith said of Jarry's injury. "We'll obviously have to see. But I've been playing well, and I think I could step into that (starter) role if the team needs it. I look forward to the challenge if that is indeed the case."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Emil Larmi is the lone goalie on the taxi squad after the last round of shuffling to that group, so he served as the emergency back up. He came onto the bench for the start of the second period, but after a few minutes returned to the locker room after Mike Vellucci said something to him. The NHL doesn't permit emergency backup goaltenders to sit on the bench, because they aren't actually part of the active roster. Sullivan confirmed after the game that that was why Larmi was in the locker room for most of the game
"It's just one of those technicalities," Sullivan said.
Larmi still tried coming out with the team for the start of the third and made it about halfway to the tunnel before someone stopped him and made him go back to the room. It reminded me of the scene from Bridesmaids when Annie keeps trying to sneak into first class on the plane.
DeSmith and Larmi are close from their time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and then the postseason bubble over the summer, and DeSmith is happy to have Larmi nearby again.
"At the first TV timeout I went over to the bench, and I was like, 'Where's Larms?' but apparently he wasn't on the roster, emergency backup, something like that," DeSmith said. "It's been good having him around. My disc golf buddy is back. It's nice being able to practice with him during pregame skates and stuff."
I'm sure Larmi is happy to have his disc golf buddy back, too. I asked him during Wilkes-Barre's training camp who he's supposed to play disc golf with this year with DeSmith up in the NHL, and he said, "It's going to be a long time driving to Pittsburgh every single night just to play disc golf with Casey."
• Jason Zucker returned to the lineup after missing the last 18 games and only having one full practice with the team ahead of time. Zucker recorded one shot on goal, two hits, and played just under a minute with the second power play unit. Given the circumstances, Sullivan thought Zucker fared well in his return.
"I thought Zuck had a good game," Sullivan said. "He hasn't played in awhile and it's never easy to get your timing and your conditioning. It's hard to simulate game intensity through the skill work that they do with Ty (Hennes) or even in practice with the group. There's no way to simulate the intensity level of an NHL game other than just playing the games. I thought, for not having played in quite some time, Zuck did a real good job. He kept his game simple, he was on the puck. He had a great scoring opportunity in the third period, I don't know how it didn't go in the net. But that's what he brings to our group."
• Angello's power play goal early in the game was his second goal of the season:
• McCann's 4-on-4 goal stood to be the game-winner. Marino picked up the primary assists on both goals, and Mike Matheson had both secondary assists:
Sullivan was asked about Matheson's contributions.
"He's playing really well for us," he said. "He's such a good skater. He helps with our transition game, he helps with our offensive game in all three zones. He joins the rush. That's what he brings. ... That's the type of game we're trying to play. We're trying to play fast, we're trying to have a quick strike attack. I think these guys are doing a good job back there."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena
1. Casey DeSmith, Penguins
2. John Marino, Penguins
3. Matt Martin, Islanders
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Mark Friedman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained on March 4. He's resumed practicing with the team.
• Forward Teddy Blueger is out longer-term with an upper-body injury sustained on March 15. He took the optional morning skate on Monday.
• Forward Evgeni Malkin is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained on March 16. He's working on off-ice rehab and hasn't skated yet.
• Forward Brandon Tanev is day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained on March 18. He took the optional morning skate.
• Forward Kasperi Kapanen is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained March 24. He's working on off-ice rehab and hasn't skated yet.
• Goaltender Tristan Jarry is being evaluated for an upper-body injury.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jason Zuckr-Jared McCann-Evan Rodrigues
Zach Aston-Reese-Freddy Gaudreau-Sam Lafferty
Colton Sceviour-Mark Jankowski-Anthony Angello
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
And for Barry Trotz's Islanders:
Leo Komarov-Mat Barzal-Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier-Brock Nelson-Josh Bailey
Ross Johnston-J-G Pageau-Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy-Andy Greene
Thomas Hickey-Scott Mayfield
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins have a scheduled day off Tuesday. They'll practice on Wednesday then head to Boston.
THE CONTENT
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