The Penguins suffered their first post-season blow even before their first game when Casey DeSmith was hurt in Friday's practice. While practicing the power play/penalty kill, DeSmith went down and, after a time, he left the ice and was visibly upset walking down the tunnel toward the locker room.
Mike Sullivan didn't have much of an update. "He's being evaluated right now for a lower body injury," Sullivan said about an hour after practice, "we'll probably have more information moving forward."
DeSmith missed the final game of the regular season with a lower body injury. Although he has no NHL playoff experience, DeSmith has proven to be a capable back-up; in fact, for a stretch in March he was playing as well as any goaltender in the league.
Maxime Legace replaced DeSmith in the goal opposite Tristan Jarry who, himself, missed the regular season finale with an upper body injury.
But Jarry says he feels fine. "Good," he said following practice, "I feel good, I feel like I'm ready and ready to go, ready to play."
As for Legace, he ended up making 29 saves in the 1-0 victory over Buffalo that clinched first place in the division. "My hope is that it will give him a big boost of confidence," Sullivan said, "if we are called upon to put him in the net that should help him moving forward. We know he can make a timely save for us that can give our team a chance to win."
Evgeni Malkin, as he had Wednesday, skated with conditioning coach Ty Hennes before practice then joined his teammates for the full workout. "He's working through the process," Sullivan explained, "he's trying to capture his very best game; he's working through it every day. He's an important player for us and he understands he wants to be a part of it."
The Penguins will open the playoffs against the Islanders Sunday noon at PPG Paints Arena.
