Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith remains sidelined for Game 2
Penguins backup goaltender Casey DeSmith will remain sidelined for Game 2 of his team’s first-round series against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
DeSmith has not played since suffering an undisclosed injury May 3.
His status was announced by coach Mike Sullivan via video conference Tuesday morning.
Reserve goaltender Maxime Lagace served as backup to starter Tristan Jarry during Game 1 on Sunday, a 4-3 home overtime loss.
In 20 games this past regular season, DeSmith had a 11-7-0 record, a 2.54 goals against average, a .912 save percentage and two shutouts.
Notes:
• Forward Evgeni Malkin and defensemen Brian Dumoulin were termed as “game-time” decisions by Sullivan. Both players participated in Tuesday’s morning skate.
Malkin missed Game 1 due to a presumed right knee injury that sidelined him for 23 games late in the regular season.
Prior to the morning skate, Malkin also worked out on the ice with skills and skating development coach Ty Hennes. On Monday, Malkin was the final player to leave the ice following practice in Cranberry. He remained on the ice for approximately 45 minutes following the conclusion of the formal practice sessions.
Dumoulin did not practice Monday for what was termed as a maintenance day.
• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby was named as the team’s nominee for the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award recognizes the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
Former Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas Golden Knights) and forward Jordan Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) were also nominated.
• The Islanders are expected to start goaltender Ilya Sorokin for the second consecutive game. In Game 1, he made 39 saves on 42 shots.
Typical starter Semyon Varlamov, who led the NHL with seven shutouts this past regular season, was withheld from Game 1 for what coach Barry Trotz termed as “cautious” measures against an undisclosed injury.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.