DeSmith has core muscle surgery, done for year

The Penguins will be without Casey DeSmith for the remainder of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Mike Sullivan announced after Friday's optional practice at PPG Paints Arena that DeSmith underwent core muscle surgery on Friday morning and would be unavailable to the team for the rest of the postseason.

DeSmith, 30, made his NHL postseason debut in Game 1 and stopped 48 of 51 shots faced before leaving the game in the second overtime period, limping off the ice as Louis Domingue took over the net and went on to finish the game, stopping all 17 shots faced in the win.

It's unclear how DeSmith suffered the injury, or if it's related to his injury from last spring. DeSmith was unavailable to the Penguins in the 2021 postseason with a soft-tissue groin injury sustained in a practice late in the 2020-21 regular season. He underwent surgery to repair a bilateral core muscle injury in June.

With DeSmith being an unrestricted free agent this summer, it's possible that DeSmith's injury marks the end of his time in net for the Penguins.

Tristan Jarry's return isn't imminent, either. As of Friday, Jarry has yet to participate in any sort of team skate or individual skate with skills coach Ty Hennes. His only time on the ice was Thursday morning, a brief session in which he didn't move around much, and only appeared to be testing how his feet felt standing on the ice in skates.

That means that Domingue is the No. 1 goaltender for now.

Domingue, a 30-year-old journeyman, started Game 2 for the Penguins and allowed five goals on 40 shots in the loss, though the nature of the goals scored made it difficult to fault him for at least the first four of those goals.

"I think he's been great," Teddy Blueger said of Domingue on Friday. "I thought he was great when he came in during the regular season in San Jose and Philly. You know, he's got experience. He's a really good goalie. I think last night he was really good and made some big saves for us, kept us in the game. A couple times there I think he handled the puck really well. He played with confidence. We're all behind him. We know he can get the job done."

DeSmith's season coming to an end also means that the backup job will continue to belong to 23-year-old Alex D'Orio for the time being.

D'Orio, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Penguins and is currently in his third professional season. He's battled through a number of different illnesses (ear infection, the flu, symptomatic COVID) and various injuries throughout this season, and his playing time has been sporadic as a result. He's spent 11 games in the ECHL with Wheeling this season, stints that functioned like conditioning stints to get D'Orio back up to form after an illness or injury. He's appeared in a total of 22 games with Wilkes-Barre, recording a 2.91 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage.

D'Orio, like Domingue, catches with his right hand, a rarity in today's game.

D'Orio has yet to appear in an NHL game in his professional career. This is his second recall, having backed up Max Lagace in the 2020-21 regular-season finale against the Sabres. 

D'Orio's new teammates are still getting to know him, but they like what they've seen from him in practice settings so far.

"It's not an easy spot for him coming in as a young guy like that," Blueger said. "But you know, he looked great. I think the guys are trying to make him feel welcome and at ease in the room and stuff, because I think that makes a big difference. Hopefully he feels comfortable here and he feels a part of the team, because I think that can go a long way toward his play on the ice and stuff. I thought he was great today."

Other than Domingue, one of the players who stood out as someone who made the extra effort to make D'Orio feel welcome in practice was Kris Letang. Letang skated over and stretched with D'Orio prior to the practice, then continued to chat with the young goaltender between drills.

Given D'Orio's lack of NHL experience to this point, it'd be hard to imagine a situation where the Penguins turn to him unless Domingue struggles heavily in a game or is injured. 

It's Domingue's net, and it's an opportunity he's looking forward to continuing.

"I think he's really excited," Sullivan said of Domingue. "I think he's excited about the opportunity. I think he's played well to this point. He's a confident kid, as you know, and I think that really helps him in this circumstance. He's really excited about the opportunity in front of him."

MORE FROM PRACTICE 

• Rickard Rakell skated on his own prior to practice. Sullivan said that Rakell is day-to-day.

• Brian Dumoulin did not skate but is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Jake Guentzel spoke about what kind of an impact Dumoulin's absence has.

"He does everything for us," Guentzel said. "The penalty kill and playing top lines, you never want to lose a guy like that. But you know, we're capable. Everyone's got to pick up the slack for a guy like that. He plays a lot of minutes. So we've got a lot of defensemen capable and will get the job done. Hopefully he's back soon."

• Jason Zucker is a game-time decision for Game 3 on Saturday. He practiced on Friday.

• It was an optional practice. The only healthy players who did not participate were Evgeni Malkin, Drew O'Connor, Jeff Carter, Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel. Todd Reirden led the session, along with Hennes and Mike Vellucci.

• Some insight from former Penguin Eric Tangradi on how players practice in the playoffs:

• Because it was an optional skate, there were no line combinations, defense pairings, or any special teams work.

• Blueger on his line's chances offensively through two games: "I'd say there were chances. I mean, think we had chances all around both games. Obviously, it's important to put the puck in the net and there's no point having a chance if you don't score. But as long as you're getting chances, I think you're on the right track, and you're giving yourself a chance. We do have to execute better and bear down a little bit. But yeah, I do feel like we're getting some chances."

• Guentzel after scoring two goals in Game 1 and another in Game 2, has already matched his goal total for the last three postseasons combined. He's happy to have this kind of start, but he's by no means satisfied.

"I think it's nice whenever you can get off to a good start," he said. "But you've got to think about how it's only two games, and it's going to be a long series. You just want to be at your best as long as you can. So for me, I'm just trying to play as best as I can to help this team win, and that scoring goals is doing that. It's a lot of games left."

• The outside of the arena has decals on the glass recognizing the 16-year postseason streak. The inside walls around the lower bowl and the corners of the videoboard have been covered with gold.

• Per Mollie Walker of the New York Post, Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow is likely out for the remainder of the first round with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who also missed Game 2, will travel to Pittsburgh for Game 3 and will be a game-time decision.