LAS VEGAS -- The Penguins will be without Tristan Jarry for at least the next two games, as he has returned back to Pittsburgh for further evaluation on the lower-body injury he suffered in Monday's Winter Classic in Boston, it was announced on Wednesday by Mike Sullivan.
"That's all I can tell you there," Sullivan said of Jarry's status.
In the interim, it'll be Casey DeSmith and Dustin Tokarski, who was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Tuesday, carrying the workload in the crease.
DeSmith made an admirable relief appearance in the Winter Classic after Jarry left during the first period, stopping 19 of 21 shots from the Bruins. Now, he's primed for more frequent action as the Penguins' No. 1 for the time being.
"I think it's a little easier," DeSmith said after practice Wednesday here at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when asked about the difference of playing nearly every game versus playing every once in a while. "I think you get into the flow of things. More game action makes you more comfortable. You can start to build game after game. There's a lot of good aspects to it. It's a heavier workload, but that's something that I feel confident that I can handle."
Whether it's been injuries to Jarry or Matt Murray since debuting with the Penguins during the 2017-18 season, DeSmith has found himself in this situation before. It's nothing new to him and, if anything, it makes him feel even better between the pipes.
"Looking back on some past years when I've been pressed into this position, I feel like I've played my best hockey," DeSmith said. "It definitely adds a layer of confidence."
DeSmith is 4-7-2 this season, and although neither his .911 save percentage or 2.99 goals against average are as strong as Jarry's numbers, the Penguins haven't been nearly as good defensively with DeSmith in net compared to when Jarry is in net. According to HockeyViz, the Penguins are allowing 2.77 expected goals against per hour (5% worse than league-average) at 5-on-5 with DeSmith in the crease, versus 2.56 expected goals against per hour (3% better than league-average) at 5-on-5 with Jarry.
Tokarski, on the other hand, has some of the AHL's best numbers this season with a .926 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average. Sullivan and the Penguins knew a situation like this might arise, and that's exactly why they went out and brought him back to the organization with a one-year, one-way $775,000 contract this past offseason.
"Dustin brings a lot of experience," Sullivan said. "He's got a significant amount of time in the NHL, he spent a lot of time last year in the NHL. He's got a number of NHL games under his belt. I think his experience level as that third goalie is invaluable for us, for this very situation. We feel confident that he's a guy that we know we can put in the net, and he's gonna give us a chance to win."
Tokarski appeared in a career-high 29 games with the Sabres last season after spending chunks of time with the Ducks, Canadiens and Lightning over the course of his career. In 76 career games, Tokarski is 22-32-12 with a .902 save percentage and 3.14 goals against average.
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Sullivan was not pleased with the way the team came out of the gates for practice. He stopped everything in the middle of a drill to alert the team that the intensity and pace was nowhere near good enough. I couldn't quite make out exactly what he commanded, but Sullivan did mention something about not going through the motions. For a team facing adversity right now, you'd think they wouldn't have to be told to pick it up.
"I just thought we were lethargic," Sullivan said after practice. "Sometimes as coaches we’re just trying to affect some positive change right away."
Rickard Rakell added that the Penguins' passes weren't hard enough and that they didn't have enough intent behind them.
"He shouldn't have to yell at us, but I thought it got better after," Rakell said.
• Kris Letang remains in Montreal with his family after the passing of his father. The Penguins aren't sure if he'll be around for the rest of the road trip.
"We're obviously trying to be respectful of Tanger's time and his space through this difficult time," Sullivan said.
Letang is also nursing a lower-body injury that was suffered last week against the Red Wings. Even if he does return to the team on this trip, it's not a given that he'll play.
• Josh Archibald is back in Pittsburgh continuing to be evaluated and rehab from a lower-body injury. He has not played since Dec. 18.
• Marcus Pettersson was a surprise absence from practice, but he is on the trip. It was a maintenance day for him, per Sullivan.
• Jeff Petry remains on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury, though he did hit the ice with Ty Hennes for some individual work after practice concluded. He will be eligible to be activated from LTIR in the coming days, but it seems as if that's not particularly close to happening just yet.
• Ryan Poehling practiced in a regular yellow jersey after missing Monday's Winter Classic in Boston due to a lingering upper-body injury. After practice he said he's feeling better. Good to go for tomorrow night against the Golden Knights?
"We'll see."
• The experiment with Teddy Blueger centering the third line with Jeff Carter on the right wing was short-lived. Blueger was back centering the fourth line at practice while Carter shifted back to center on the third line. Here's the Penguins' workflow up front:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Blueger - Brock McGinn
(Drew O'Connor rotated in with the fourth line, suggesting he'll be a healthy scratch on Thursday night if Poehling plays.)
• Minus Pettersson, all of the defensemen rotated.
• Ty Smith remained on the top power-play unit during special teams work. The personnel ...
PP1: Crosby, Guentzel, Rakell, Malkin, Smith
PP2: Carter, Zucker, Rust, Kapanen, Joseph
• "Just playing my game," Mark Friedman said when asked what he's trying to bring to the Penguins' defense. "I'm not doing anything that I typically wouldn't do. Trying to bring a physical aspect to the game and use my speed when I can and just kind of be a pest out there. I think that's when I'm thriving and playing at my best."
• I followed up with Sullivan on what he's seen from Friedman now that he's got three NHL games under his belt this season.
"Frieds is just a real good defender," Sullivan said. "He's a mobile guy, he's a great skater, and he uses his mobility to defend. He has the ability to make outlet passes for us, help us get out of our end zone. He can use his skating ability to join the rush and help us create numbers off the rush. And that's what we see. He's a competitive guy.
"One of the reasons I know we signed him was because we knew he was an NHL defenseman that can play in this league and that can help us win games. He's not just a guy that's going over the boards to kill minutes. He's a guy that can be a productive player for us."
• Puck drops against the Golden Knights on Thursday at 10:08 p.m. Eastern here at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. First, they'll hold an optional morning skate at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. I'll have your coverage all day long.
