PITTSBURGH (93.7 the Fan) The mood around the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room the day after suffering their first regulation loss of the season was surprisingly light on Wednesday.
Maybe it's the elevated vibes from star center Sidney Crosby inching closer to a return, but the media was treated with multiple light hearted moments after practice.
One of the main moments from post-practice interviews was the discussion with goalie Casey DeSmith about his new mask.
DeSmith's old mask was described by his teammate Teddy Blueger as "too generic," so DeSmith invited Blueger to design a new one.
Blueger recently started watching popular TV show The Office and his favorite character is Dwight Schrute.
The Rainn Wilson character became the inspiration behind the design for the back of the mask.
It depicts Dwight giving an emphatic speech for being Dunder Mifflin's Salesman of the Year, and is signed with Blueger's signature.
It was a speech that was inspired by real life speeches given by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
The Office is often referenced by the Penguins American Hockey League affiliate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The show and AHL team share a location and thus leads to many office memes.
The front of the mask is takes another step away from the generic goalie mask designs.
Rather than printing DeSmith's jersey number in numeric fashion, it is spelled out as "ONE" across the chin.
Needless to say the mask steps far away from what Blueger described as something that came from Dick's Sporting Goods.
