DeSmith Feeling Comfortable Heading into NHL Playoff Debut

One of the biggest storylines heading into this season was how Tristan Jarry would respond following
the disappointing finish
to his first year as the Penguins starter.

And the goaltender, who turned 27 on April 29, went on to have an excellent 2021-22 campaign. Not just from a numbers perspective, which were tremendous, as Jarry finished in the top-10 in all major categories: eighth in wins (34), sixth in goals-against average (2.42) and seventh in save percentage (.919).
It was more about how Jarry approached this whole season, as the motivated netminder worked incredibly hard during the summer to put himself in a position to have success upon returning to Pittsburgh, and then continued to put his best foot forward all year long.
"He has a certain look in his eye that he's determined to prove people wrong, that he's a legit No. 1 goaltender in this league," head coach Mike Sullivan said after Jarry became the fourth netminder in franchise history to produce a 30-win season on March 17 at St. Louis. "We believe in him, and he's done a great job for us."
Unfortunately, Jarry won't be able to carry that momentum into the start of the postseason, as he is expected to miss Games 1 and 2 against the New York Rangers with a lower-body injury that sidelined him for the last six games of the regular season.
That means No. 2 netminder Casey DeSmith will get the nod for Pittsburgh and make his NHL playoff debut in this Rangers series. Louis Domingue will serve as the backup.
"We definitely feel for Tristan, he's had a heck of a year for us," forward Jeff Carter said. "He's been the backbone of our team, and I'm sure he was he was really looking forward to getting back in there. But as far as Casey, I think we have full confidence in him."
DeSmith, 30, does have playoff experience at other levels, including the American Hockey League. In 2015-16, his first professional season, DeSmith backstopped Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, where they fell to Hershey in seven games. The following year, WBS got eliminated by Providence in Game 5 of the first round.
"I've kind of had playoff experience at every level, but the bottom line is nothing really changes as far as the mindset," DeSmith said. "It's really just another hockey game. Obviously means a little bit more, but as far as mindset and approach, everything stays the same."
DeSmith feels that if a player tries to change anything going into playoffs, that's when problems probably start to happen, so he just wants to fall back onto the game he knows how to play. And he was able to gain confidence with his game going down the stretch, starting five of those final six games, going 3-2-0 with a 2.24 GAA and .940 save percentage.
That included a 52-save shutout against Boston on April 21, which was the most saves by a goaltender in a shutout in Penguins franchise history.
"I've gotten more playing time in the past couple of weeks that I have in a two-week stretch in a long time," DeSmith said. "So definitely feeling comfortable in the net, which is a welcome thing coming into playoffs."
His game has just continued to trend upward following
a tough first half of the year
, with DeSmith calling a stretch where he got pulled in back-to-back games the lowest point of his NHL career. He credited a lot of different factors with helping him respond the right way.
"I changed skates and that was huge for me, kind of just getting out of those skates I was in was really big," DeSmith said. "Started working with different mental coach, kind of changing the voice there, that was helpful. Started leaning on Chico (goalie coach Andy Chiodo) a little bit and getting in a little bit better of a workflow with him, and learning how to get the best out of each other a little bit more there."
DeSmith's teammates were impressed with how their goaltender just put his head down and went to work on getting his game back to where it needed to be.
"He went through it a little bit early in the year, and he didn't sulk," forward Brian Boyle said. "He was determined, and he's played really, really good hockey. He's been great. He works extremely hard. If it's practice, if it's a game, he wants to stop every puck. He's a competitor, really."
Someone who's been stopping a lotof pucks this season is the goaltender who will be down at the other end in this Round 1 matchup, as Igor Shesterkin is the runaway favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top netminder.
"I'm not a goalie expert. I just know he stops the puck," defenseman Kris Letang said with a laugh.
After the Rangers drafted him in the fourth round back in 2014, Shesterkin developed in the KHL before debuting with New York midway through the '19-20 campaign - going on a 10-2 tear and quickly establishing himself as a worthy successor to Henrik Lundqvist as the team's franchise goalie.
He has been absolutely lights out in his second full NHL season, and Shesterkin is the biggest reason that the Rangers are back in the playoffs - which is why he could also take home the Hart Trophy as league MVP.
That all being said, like DeSmith, Shesterkin is also rather untested. He has just one game of NHL playoff experience, allowing 27 goals on 30 shots in Game 3, where the Rangers got swept by Carolina in the best-of-five series. The Penguins plan to just put as many pucks as they can on the 26-year-old netminder to try and create rebound and second-chance opportunities.
"He's a good goalie. I think he's a good first-shot goaltender for sure, tough to beat clean," forward Danton Heinen said. "So I think we got to get traffic there. Just throw a lot at him, and get there."