SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It seemed as though the stars were aligning for Tristan Jarry to return from his upper-body injury when the Penguins visit the Sharks for their final game of a three-game California trip Tuesday night here at the SAP Center.
Before the Penguins left Los Angeles, Jarry participated in a second consecutive practice Monday without any visible limitations and took quite a hefty workload. Mike Sullivan even went as far as saying there was a possibility Jarry would return against the Sharks.
That won't be the case.
All three goalies on the NHL roster (Jarry, Casey DeSmith, Dustin Tokarski) participated in the Penguins' optional morning skate at the SAP Center Tuesday morning, but it was DeSmith taking all the shots while Jarry and Tokarski worked with goalie coach Andy Chiodo at the opposite end of the rink.
Sullivan confirmed after the skate that DeSmith will get the nod in goal once again.
"Ultimately, Jars is getting real close," Sullivan said. "He had a real good practice yesterday. When our medical team deems him ready to play, that's when the decision will be made, and that hasn't been the case to this point. We're gonna continue to work with Jars. He's getting a lot closer, but like I said, he had his most productive practice yesterday and he's getting closer. That's encouraging."
This will mark DeSmith's seventh start in a row for the Penguins after starting both games of the team's back-to-back in Anaheim and Los Angeles over the weekend. He was yanked after allowing three goals on 15 shots against the Kings Saturday.
DeSmith is 9-11-4 this season with a .903 save percentage, 3.30 goals against average and 3.36 goals saved above expected based on the quality of chances he's faced, per Evolving-Hockey.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Jan Rutta (upper-body injury, long-term injured reserve) participated in the Penguins' optional morning skate Tuesday, but will not be available against the Sharks.
• Mark Friedman missed Monday's practice and will not be available against the Sharks as he's continuing to be evaluated for an upper-body injury.
• Aaron Dell will start in goal for the Sharks. He's appeared in just three games this season on his way to an 0-2-0 record, .908 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average.
• Kaapo Kahkonen will be Dell's backup against the Penguins after leaving Sunday's game against the Capitals due to injury.
• Here's how the Penguins are expected to line up:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Blueger - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel
• Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist in the Sharks' previous matchup against the Penguins on Jan. 28. Sullivan is looking for the Penguins to make him defend as much as possible.
"He's an elite player," Sullivan said of the NHL's highest-producing defenseman. "A lot of times, you're not gonna completely neutralize him. You're trying to limit his ability to have an impact on the game. For me, we got to force him to play defense, and the way to do that is we got to hang onto the puck."
• Puck drops against the Sharks tonight at 10:38 p.m. Eastern here at the SAP Center. Dejan Kovacevic and I will be there for your coverage.
