If the Pittsburgh Penguins lose in the playoffs because of an injured goalie, it's on Ron Hextall.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in danger of a few things as they approach their bye week for the 2022-23 season.
The first obstacle for the Penguins as the season enters the back nine is battling to make the playoffs for the 17th consecutive season.
Injuries, inconsistent performances, and a vanished bottom six all make it a very real possibility that a Sidney Crosby led team misses the post season for the first time since 2006.
If the Penguins do manage to pull a few strings and make it to the dance, they’ll have other questions surrounding their season.
Can the Penguins achieve greatness with their current goaltending duo?
The newest injury from Tristan Jarry has analysts digging into possibilities and fans hitting the panic button.
It’s fair for fans to be anxious when it comes to the current goalie situation; Jarry is a great goalie but has taken too many injuries in his young career, and Casey DeSmith just isn’t the backup he used to be.
DeSmith had a standout game in the shootout loss to the Washington Capitals, but that was his first highlight performance in a good while.
With a 7-9-4 record, DeSmith doesn’t look like a viable option if Jarry goes down yet again come playoff time.
This is the exact scenario discussed by Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on the 32 Thoughts Podcast; Friedman stated that the worst thing a general manager can do is lose in the postseason in the same fashion two years in a row.
Last year, the Penguins dropped their series against the Rangers in seven games because Jarry was out, then DeSmith got injured in Game 1.
Louis Domingue had to step in and force seven games, but that’s a series that likely doesn’t go the distance if Jarry is healthy.
If the Penguins make the playoffs and Jarry is injured again, why did Ron Hextall do nothing to fix an obvious problem?
Friedman and Marek pontificated if the Penguins should test the goalie market in a previous radio bite and the consensus was that they probably should.
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