Skate report: DeSmith earns start vs. Red Wings: 'He's deserving'

DETROIT -- Mike Sullivan said that there were "a number of reasons" that went into his decision to start Casey DeSmith for the Penguins' 7:08 p.m. game against the Red Wings here in Detroit on Tuesday.

He didn't elaborate on what most of those reasons were. One reason is presumably that Tristan Jarry isn't quite at 100% health yet, having missed the Penguins' game in Dallas last week due to a lower-body injury. That was a new injury, rather than a re-aggravation of the lower-body injury he suffered in the Jan. 2 Winter Classic, or the upper-body injury he sustained two games after returning from the Winter Classic injury.

One of the big reasons for DeSmith's start is that right now, he's the hot hand.

"He's deserving," Sullivan said of DeSmith after Tuesday's morning skate. "He's played really well as of late."

DeSmith has been the better goaltender since Jarry returned from his upper-body injury on Feb. 20. In the five weeks since then, Jarry has appeared in 13 games and been pulled in four of them. He's posted an .872 save percentage and 3.78 goals-against average. DeSmith has played in nine games -- four of them relief appearances -- and recorded a .919 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average. 

Jarry fared well in his last start, the March 22 game in Colorado that preceded his latest lower-body injury -- he stopped 28 of 30 shots in that win. He was on the shelf for the game the next night in Dallas, and was cleared to back up for the Penguins' game Saturday against the Capitals.

DeSmith put forth a 31-save performance in that game Saturday, and Sullivan was asked afterward if it was tempting to turn back to DeSmith for Tuesday's game.

 "Well, we'll see," Sullivan said. "Case has played really well for us, and he made some big saves tonight, especially in the first couple of periods. I thought he was dynamite, and he made some big saves to give us a chance to keep the lead and build on the lead. So we'll make those decisions accordingly, game-to-game. We'll see how Jars responds here. But, without a doubt, I think Casey is making a strong case for himself. He's playing extremely well."

The case DeSmith made was strong enough to earn that next start. If he continues to make a strong case for himself, he could make Sullivan's decisions pretty difficult as the postseason nears.

MORE FROM THE SKATE

• Jeff Petry will be a game-time decision. He took regular line rushes on the second defense pairing and worked with the second power play unit in Monday's practice, so I'd put money on him playing. Petry was never put on injured reserve, there aren't any issues with him getting back into the lineup. The only corresponding move would be sending down one of the defensemen up on an emergency recall (Mark Friedman or Taylor Fedun) because the emergency situation that allowed for the emergency recall is over. Fedun would be the odd one out.

• Jeff Carter, who missed Monday's practice due to personal reasons, is available and was the first guy on the ice for the morning skate.

• It was an optional morning skate. Participants were Jarry, DeSmith, Carter, Petry, Fedun, Friedman, Chad Ruhwedel, Alex Nylander, P.O Joseph, Drew O’Connor, Evgeni Malkin.

• In case you missed it Monday, Nick Bonino was back on the ice for a lighter skate prior to the Penguins' practice. I asked Sullivan after Tuesday's skate if there were any updates on Dmitry Kulikov (lower-body), Marcus Pettersson (lower-body) or Jan Rutta (lower-body) and if they were all expected back before the end of the season.

"Our hope that we'll get them back, yes," Sullivan told me. "They're all making progress. None of them have traveled with us, they're all back in Pittsburgh right now. But they're going through their respective rehab processes. Our hope is is these guys will get closer as we start to approach the end of the season. The runway is short right now, so there's not a lot of time left."

• Former NHL player Nathan Gerbe was in attendance at the skate with his kids, who Sidney Crosby took some time to meet after: