Casey DeSmith's results have been a bit of a mixed bag since taking over for Tristan Jarry as the Penguins' No. 1 in goal. While Jarry rehabs from a lower-body injury, DeSmith has been tasked with providing a solid foundation for the team to get out of a funk.
DeSmith is a career backup and expectations should always be tempered when dealing with any non-No.1 goalie, but it's not unreasonable to expect the occasional timely save.
At the very end of the second period in the Penguins' 4-3 overtime victory against the Ducks here at PPG Paints Arena Monday night, DeSmith came up with as timely a save as they come, robbing Mason McTavish to preserve the Penguins' one-goal lead:
"I knew there wasn’t much time left," DeSmith would say after the game. "I was just trying to see over some bodies there. He made a pretty hard pass backdoor, and McTavish has a good one-timer, so I just slid over and got a piece of it. I actually didn’t know where it was. It was in my glove, I guess."
The save was a great display of athleticism from the 6-foot, 181-pound DeSmith. It was also a great display of anticipation.
The Penguins found themselves on the penalty-kill, and the quick puck movement from the Ducks was able to open up quite a bit of room to maneuver within the Penguins' coverage.
Bryan Rust pressured the initial carrier near the left circle, but did so at an angle that allowed him to loop right back into the Penguins' setup rather than taking himself out of the play. The problem was that his pressure forced a pass up to the point at the same time that Jeff Carter's momentum had him sinking into the heart of the slot and away from the area Carter needed to apply pressure.
With all four Penguins suddenly freezing at the sight of all the room the carrier had up top, a quick pass was fired to McTavish at the left circle. McTavish was looking at nothing but net as the pass made its way to him, and by the time he fired there was still an abundance of mesh for him to shoot at.
Unfortunately for McTavish, DeSmith didn't know exactly where the shot was coming from, but he knew exactly where he needed to slide across and position himself to make the ten-bell save.
