It's Playoff Time In Pittsburgh

In the salary cap era, it seems like the Penguins have two things they can guarantee when the seasons turn from winter to spring. The first is an impressive run of sixteen-straight campaigns where they've qualified for the playoffs, the longest such streak in North American professional sports. The second guarantee isn't written in stone by any means, but it seems that a lot of playoff runs in the Steel City see a goaltending controversy become front-and-center in the conversation about how well the Penguins will do. While it doesn't happen every year, it's happening this year again for vastly different reasons, but it's present once more.

The news today had a "here we go again" feeling as the Penguins announced that Game One starter Casey DeSmith would miss the remainder of the playoffs after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle today. DeSmith looked very capable in handling the starter's duties in Game One, making 51 saves before exiting the game at 9:18 of the second overtime. Louis Domingue came into the eventual 4-3 overtime win, and it appears he'll start for the remainder of the series against the New York Rangers unless something dramatic changes on Pittsburgh's side.

There was no report if this injury was the same as the one that kept DeSmith out of last year's playoffs. Last year, DeSmith missed the postseason due to a core muscle injury that required surgery as well. Obviously, no one likes to hear of injuries at this time of year, but missing two postseasons in a row due to core muscle injuries is something that DeSmith will need to address once he recovers from this year's surgery.

Tristan Jarry, who was Pittsburgh's starter for most of the regular season, is also out with a lower-body injury that was sustained back on April 14. It's suspected that he may have suffered a broken foot, and his timetable for a return to the Pittsburgh crease is unknown. As of this writing, he has yet to skate with the Penguins since the injury, so it would seem prudent to say he likely would not be game-ready if he were to miraculously return in the next few days. Strangers things have happened, though.

That leaves the Penguins with Game-One finisher and Game-Two starter Louis Domingue and never-played-in-the-NHL-playoffs Alex D'Orio as their tandem moving forward. I'm not saying the Penguins can't win with these two players backstopping them because both have made more saves in one period of action than I have in my entire career. They know how to goalie, and the Penguins need them to step up when called upon in this postseason.

It just feels like we've been through this idea of not knowing if the Penguins have capable goaltending to win the Stanley Cup a number of times before.

We saw it in 2013 when Marc-Andre Fleury struggled against the New York Islanders, prompting the team to start Tomas Vokoun over their talented de facto starter. The move worked in helping the Penguins defeat the Islanders, but the Penguins stayed the course to start Round Two against the Ottawa Senators, winning that series before falling in the Eastern Conference Final to Boston.

In 2016, it was the Fleury-Murray show as Matt Murray backed up the Flower for most of the season until an injury push Marc-Andre Fleury to the sidelines, allowing Matt Murray to take over in the crease. Murray was also injued in the last game of the season, so Jeff Zatkoff started in the playoffs before Murray took over in Game Three against Washington. Murray then struggled against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Final which allowed the Fleury-vs-Murray question to bubble to the surface. The Penguins would opt to stick with Murray in Game Six while being down 3-2 in the series, and we already know that Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup that season.

The Penguins came into the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Marc-Andrew Fleury playing well, but he struggled against Ottawa, prompting the Penguins to turn to Murray once again. Murray, who appeared to be the starter for Pittsburgh when they opened the playoffs against Columbus, had been relegated to the bench after suffering a concussion in warm-up prior to Game One in that series, but he'd jump in and help Pittsburgh win their second-consecutive Stanley Cup.

After allowing Vegas to select Fleury in the expansion draft, it seemed like Matt Murray was the goalie saviour the Penguins needed. His 2018 season, however, saw him lose the starter's role after he struggled, opening the door to both Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith in the Penguins' crease. Murray would return from an injury looking like his old self as he helped the Penguins down the Flyers, but he couldn't stop the Washington Capitals on their Stanley Cup run.

After Barry Trotz's masterclass in defensive play against the Penguins in 2020, the goaltending question was raised again as Matt Murray struggled and Tristan Jarry was needed. Murray lost eight of his last nine playoff starts before Tristan Jarry played Game Four, but the twelfth-seeded Canadiens used solid goaltending and a great defensive system to upset the fifth-seeded Penguins in the best-of-five play-in round in four games. Questions surrounding Murray was follow him all summer until he was traded to Ottawa at the NHL Entry Draft.

Since then, Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith have been the tandem in Pittsburgh to backstop the Penguins, but there have been other moments in Pittsburgh history where goaltending was questioned. There was "the save" by Frank Pietrangelo in 1991 following an injury to Tom Barrasso that had fans asking if Pietrangelo should keep playing after helping the Penguins stay alive (yes, they won the Stanley Cup that year with Barrasso in net).

In 2001, GM Eddie Johnston swung a deal that brought in little-known Swedish netminder Johan Hedberg to the Steel City as all three of as Jean-Sebastian Aubin, Garth Snow, and Rich Parent struggled throughout the season. Hedberg arrived in Pittsburgh from the IHL's Manitoba Moose, and he went on a tear as he backstopped the Penguins to the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the New Jersey Devils.

Whether it be injuries to starters, poor play by starters, or a goalie catching fire at the right time, the Penguins' crease is always newsworthy at this time of year. My hope is that Casey DSmith's recovery is quick and he's back on the ice soon because he'll give the Penguins a great chance to extend their postseason streak to seventeen seasons next year, but the Penguins will have to try to down the New York Rangers using a third-string netminder and an AHL back-up goalie who has yet to see a minute of action in any NHL postseason.

It seems like now would be the time for one of Louis Domingue or Alex D'Orio to catch fire and carry this team on an unbelievable run because it wouldn't truly feel like spring without a goaltending story in Pittsburgh!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!