The Former New Hampshire Wildcats goaltender stood on his head in game three for the Canucks.
The Former New Hampshire Wildcats goaltender, Casey DeSmith, stood on his head in game three of round one in the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
DeSmith, 32, entered the playoffs as the Vancouver Canucks backup goalie to Thatcher Demko, the former Boston College Eagles' goalie. But after playing in game one, the Canucks announced that Demko would not play the rest of the series and maybe the entire playoffs.
This put the weight of the team on DeSmith, a former New Hampshire Wildcats goaltender. In game two, DeSmith allowed three goals on 15 shots to the Nashville Predators and suffered the loss.
But in game three, DeSmith went into the hostile environment of Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and stopped 25 out of the 26 shots he faced to give the Canucks a 2-1 series lead.
The 32-year-old goaltender had only one game of playoff experience before his game-two start. It came in the 2021-22 playoffs with the Pittsburgh Penguins after starter Tristan Jarry got hurt. DeSmith allowed three goals on 51 shots in that game, he later left in the second overtime with an injury.
The former Wildcats goaltender went undrafted and after his college career, he began his pro career by signing with Wheeling of the ECHL. He spent three seasons with New Hampshire where he posted a 48-36-8 record with a 2.32 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage, and nine shutouts.
After College DeSmith split time in the ECHL and AHL. He played only 13 ECHL games and was dominant in the AHL where he registered a 57-33-11 record. He had a career 2.56 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage with six shutouts in 103 AHL games.
The Penguins traded him in the offseason to the Montreal Canadiens in a three-team trade. The Canadiens ended up trading him to the Canucks the following month in a deal for forward Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick.
After only starting 27 games in the regular season, DeSmith is the Canucks starter for the rest of the playoffs. So far, the 6-foot goaltender is thriving. After all, he does have a 1-1-0 record with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in three career playoff games.
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