DETROIT -- Mike Sullivan said Tuesday morning here in Detroit that Casey DeSmith earned the start that evening against the Red Wings for a "number of reasons."
"He's deserving," Sullivan said of DeSmith after the morning skate. "He's played really well as of late."
That's true. Tristan Jarry has been battling injuries seemingly all season -- from acknowledging that he was playing through some physical limitations in November, to the lower-body injury sustained in the Jan. 2 Winter Classic, to the upper-body sustained two games after returning from his Winter Classic injury, to the lower-body injury that had him unavailable to back up last week in Dallas. It's been a rough season for Jarry health-wise.
And whether Jarry's health is the reason or not, DeSmith has just been the hotter hand as of late. Entering Tuesday's game, in the five weeks since Jarry returned from his upper-body injury, 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.
It wasn't a real out-of-the-box decision to start DeSmith here against the Red Wings. It was the smart thing to do, all things considered. Unfortunately for the Penguins, he just wasn't at his best in the Penguins' 7-4 loss to the Red Wings. Neither were any of the players in front of him, though.
Goaltending remains a pretty hot-button issue for the Penguins, and there's not much time left in the regular season season to figure it out.
Nobody is solely faulting DeSmith for the loss -- certainly not his coach.
"Listen, we win as a team, we lose as a team," Sullivan said when asked how much of a factor goaltending was in the loss. "We just didn't get it done tonight."
The Penguins' start was awful, and they trailed 3-0 at first intermission. Though DeSmith's stat line of three goals on 10 shots looked terrible, he wasn't that off in the first period. The first goal was rough -- he got a piece of it, then lost track of it as it trickled through his legs and over the goal line. But the other two goals that period came off of deflections that were a result of the guys in front of him failing to box out those areas in front of the net.
The rest of DeSmith's night wasn't great. He finished with 18 saves on 24 shots, with the Red Wings' last goal being an empty-net tally. The Red Wings' expected goals against with DeSmith on the ice (which takes into account the quantity and quality of the shot attempts) was 2.67. He allowed more than double that. Only two of the goals DeSmith allowed were off high-danger shots, of which he faced nine. He was subjected to six medium-danger shots and allowed half.
One of the more egregious goals allowed was off what was considered a low-danger shot -- the game-winner from David Perron. DeSmith took blame for it afterward:
"I overslid," DeSmith said. "He snuck one through me five-hole, that's one I have to have. That's a huge letdown for me in a big moment. It didn't feel good."
DeSmith's often pretty candid -- wins, losses or practices -- so it's not unusual to hear him come forward with exactly what he did wrong there and how it felt. That's standard. DeSmith seemed in an exceptionally low mood though after this one. I can't remember many losses this season that seemed to affect him personally this much.
It may be because this was a big opportunity for DeSmith personally to continue the strong run he's been on and potentially take over the No. 1 spot heading into the playoffs. This was a setback toward that goal. It sounds like a role that's been open too, like when Sullivan was asked after Saturday's game if DeSmith's performance tempted him to give DeSmith the start Tuesday.
"Well, we'll see," Sullivan said at the time. "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."
It'll be interesting to see how the Penguins' goaltending situation plays out down this last stretch of the season. Certainly, a lot of it depends on how Jarry feels physically. He would never admit to it, sticking to the line that he feels "good" anytime he talks, but he often seems to be laboring or limited in his movements. He doesn't seem to be at his best physically right now.
Jarry, after missing last week's game in Dallas, has at least been healthy enough to back up in the Penguins' last two games. That shouldn't be mistaken for confirmation that Jarry is 100%. It can be true that DeSmith -- especially with his hot hand before tonight -- is simply a better option to start when Jarry is less than 100%, and Jarry at less than 100% is still a better backup option than Dustin Tokarski.
The answer to who the No. 1 goaltender should be moving forward isn't a matter of Jarry just needing to "toughen up" and play. It can be true that Jarry has been injury-prone this season. It can also be true that it isn't something that's within his control at this point. The idea that Jarry needs to simply "toughen up," as if it's an issue of his drive or want to play is silly at best. He's in a contract year, and he's not stupid. He has to be aware that by being unavailable as often as he has this season, he's potentially leaving millions of dollars on the table with his next contract, whoever it may be with. If he could play and be the one who gives the Penguins the best chance to win -- even if he has to battle through an injury -- he'd be doing it. We've seen him do it before. Coming into Game 7 of the first-round series against the Rangers last year, when the magic of the spicy pork and broccoli wore off and it was obvious that Louis Domingue was just incapable of winning the Penguins a game, Jarry stepped up to start even though his broken foot was not yet healed. He admitted in training camp this year that he was still so injured at that point that had the Penguins advanced, he would have been forced to go back on the shelf in the second round after playing on that still-broken foot.
The Penguins have eight games left in the regular season and are holding onto their wild card spot by a three-point margin. The Panthers, Sabres, Senators and Capitals are all very much within arms reach of overtaking the Penguins. The next two weeks are going to be important for solidifying both a playoff position and the goaltending position.
