PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Struggling early in the season, Casey DeSmith found a simple answer to his problems. Change shoes or in his case, skates.
The Pens back-up goalie adjusted his skates, different than what he usually does looking for an edge. It was a disadvantage, so he eventually switched back.
“It was kind of throwing me back on my heels, my weight was always on my heels so I didn’t feel explosive,” DeSmith said. “It’s really hard to make saves when your weight is back.”
He had trouble making saves early in the season. He gave up five in his debut at Florida and then two weeks later, four against Calgary. Those are a pair of teams off to hot starts, maybe understandable. Then his next start, DeSmith gave up five to Ottawa.
Since then, DeSmith had a .903 save percentage against Montreal, gave up one goal at Seattle on December 6 and shutout Anaheim on 29 shots Saturday.
“Having played recently helps a lot,” DeSmith said. “The more I get in the net the more comfortable I get. Been working on getting back to playing my game, playing a little more on my toes. A little more athletic and not playing as stiff and boring of a game as I was playing earlier.”
“Just been trying to get my feet set but still have motion going backwards. Stay balanced on my feet, able to react, push over, drop straight down. Give myself the best chance to make the save that I have to make.”
DeSmith also credits new methods with his new goalie coach. The 30-year-old working with Andy Chiodo in what he described as more read-and-react drills. He believes they are more realistic to game situations.
“I just think it’s his overall mindset,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “He’s in a much better headspace. I think he’s confidence. A lot of it just boils down to the preparation process and the details of how he makes his saves and gets to his spots. The way he reads plays. We felt like he’s just been trending the right way. Casey has played a lot of really good hockey for us.”
“Resilience is a good word to describe Casey,” said forward Zach Aston-Reese. “I have been with him awhile, was back with him in Wilkes-Barre. He was just this energized bean in the net that was stopping everything.”
Aston-Reese also said DeSmith recovering from surgery for a core muscle injury slowed his return more mentally to start the year.
“It’s always tough dealing with an injury, especially the one Casey had,” Aston-Reese said. “Coming back is tough, it’s a physical injury but sometimes it can affect you emotionally, mentally where you lose your confidence and things of that nature. It’s a process, he stuck with it. He worked so hard and it took a while, he’s getting results now, it’s really nice to see.”
The Pens defensemen, forwards and both goalies working perfectly in concert over the last week, allowing four goals in the last four games. It’s all Eastern Conference teams for the rest of the month starting Tuesday hosting Montreal as the Pens sit fourth in the Metro.