Casey DeSmith will get his 10th start of the season -- and another opportunity to regain some confidence -- when the Penguins face the Red Wings tonight at 7:08 at PPG Paints Arena.
Mike Sullivan confirmed DeSmith's assignment while speaking with reporters a couple of hours before the game.
Sullivan, like most coaches, prefers to not use the same goaltender on consecutive days, and Tristan Jarry played in the Penguins' 2-1 loss to the Kraken Thursday.
DeSmith is 3-3-1, with a 3.58 goals-against average and .886 save percentage, and has struggled for much of this season.
"Obviously, we'd like to see (DeSmith) gain some traction here," Sullivan said. "He's working extremely hard in practice and, as I've mentioned in the past, 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, and we know he's a very capable guy.
"I think (DeSmith) would be the first one to admit he has high expectations of himself. We're hopeful he'll have a good start tonight. We believe he will. He's at a good spot, mentally. He and (goaltending coach Andy Chiodo) have gotten some quality work in the last few days in practice.
"We're trying to put him in a position to be successful, and if he can gain a little bit of traction, I believe it will help his own personal confidence. That's a big part of any athlete's success."
DeSmith would benefit from the kind of sold defense performance the Penguins have produced for much of the season, although they faltered in the third period against Seattle.
"We're going to try to compete hard in front of him," Sullivan said. "We're going to try to limit the (scoring) opportunities, at least the high-quality opportunities or looks that (Detroit) might try to get tonight. If we can do that, we can certainly make it a more manageable game for (DeSmith)."
