Are the Penguins Getting Enough from Casey DeSmith?

The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped a tight battle against the Carolina Hurricanes, ending their recent seven-game winning streak. Goaltender Casey DeSmith was given the start in net and played a decent, yet underwhelming game. He stopped 26 of 29 shots, but couldn't do enough to steal a win for his team. 

With the recent stretch Tristan Jarry is on and the team catapulting up the standings, goaltending hasn't been an area of concern for the Penguins. However, the Pens have dropped three of the last five games DeSmith played. It begs the question: are the Penguins getting enough from their back-up goaltender? 

After picking up a win against the Buffalo Sabres on December 10th, DeSmith seemed pleased with his performance in the game and overall on the season. The Penguins back-up goaltender hadn’t played since November 26th, an unfortunate consequence of Jarry’s recent stretch of dominance. Despite this, DeSmith played a strong game in net and surrendered one goal on 38 shots. 

The problem is these performances aren't consistent for DeSmith. Perhaps the gap in between starts is to blame, as he's gone eight and 14 days in between his last two starts. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't matter what the reason is when the results aren't there. Inconsistency is the worst trait your back-up goaltender can have and DeSmith is struggling to find it in his play this season. 

In 11 games started this season, he's currently posting a losing record of 4-6-1. He has a goals against average of 2.83 and a save percentage of .914. He's given up four goals in four of the games he's lost, and has given up three or more goals in seven of his 11 starts. When he plays well, DeSmith is an agile and quick goaltender who makes himself bigger than his 6'0 frame. When he's not on his game, though, the Penguins falter. 

The Penguins have put a large amount of faith and trust in DeSmith, and it's not clear if he's earned that trust moving forward. While the options outside of Pittsburgh may not be vast, it doesn't change the Penguins need for a back-up they can trust for this postseason. Unfortunately for DeSmith, he might not be that guy. 

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