The last time Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jason Zucker took to the ice for a game, his team looked different.
That is to say, it was healthier.
And a little bit older.
In the roughly five weeks Zucker was sidelined because of a suspected left leg injury, his team has staged a youth movement, out of necessity.
With several veteran forwards such as Zucker, Evgeni Malkin and Brandon Tanev waylaid by various ailments, the Penguins have turned to a handful of minor leaguers and rookies to fortify their forward ranks.
“Throughout the entire lineup, guys have really stepped up and played well,” Zucker said via video conference. “From (rookie forward Radim Zohorna) getting his first goal to (rookie forward Anthony Angello) and (journeyman forward Frederick Gaudreau). So many guys come to the top of my head that have been playing really well. It takes an army when you have a ton of guys out.”
That notion now might have to apply to the goaltending position for the foreseeable future.
During Monday’s 2-1 win against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena, starting goaltender Tristan Jarry left the game after the first period due to an undisclosed injury after making five saves on five shots.
He was replaced to open the second period by backup Casey DeSmith.
According to coach Mike Sullivan, Jarry’s ailment was something “the medical staff felt strongly enough to take him out of the game.”
DeSmith offered some optimism as he suggested Jarry’s malady was not “anything too serious.”
Despite only playing a single period, Jarry was credited with the win, improving his record to 15-8-2.
Any prolonged absence by Jarry, an All-Star in 2019-20, would push DeSmith into the starter’s role and lead to reserve Max Lagace, currently assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, or Emil Larmi, currently a member of the taxi squad, being promoted to the backup position.
DeSmith made 19 saves on 20 shots, including a difficult sequence at 5:59 of the third period, first denying Islanders forward Jordan Eberle on a backhander from the right of the cage then forward Casey Cizikas on the ensuing rebound.
“I thought Casey did a tremendous job coming in,” Sullivan said. “That’s not an easy position to put a goaltender in. I thought Casey did a terrific job for us.”
All of the Penguins’ offense came during the first period. In each instance, defenseman John Marino generated the opportunities.
The opening goal came 4:24 into regulation on a power-play opportunity. After Marino made a rush up ice from his own left circle to the Islanders’ end boards, he pushed the puck to the crease, where Angello put a backhander past goaltender Semyon Varlamov’s blocker for his second goal.
Then, at 18:28 of the first period, Marino took advantage of a poor line change by the Islanders, pushed play up the right wing and chipped a pass to the slot, where forward Jared McCann jabbed a re-direction inside Varlamov’s blocker for his eighth goal.
“If you have the open ice, obviously, you’ve got to take it,” Marino said. “That’s just kind of how the game went and how those plays happened.”
The Islanders’ lone goal came at 9:22 of the second period on a power-play score by forward Matt Martin, who re-directed a puck from the right of the crease past DeSmith’s blocker on the far side.
After that, DeSmith and his teammates fended off the Islanders attack and pulled into a virtual tie with New York for second place in the East Division with 48 points each.
Any possibility of surging past the Islanders or the first-place Washington Capitals (50 points) could hinge on a greater contribution from DeSmith.
Given DeSmith’s success this season – he has an 8-3-0 record – his teammates profess full confidence should they need to turn to him for a prolonged stretch.
“We have the utmost confidence in him moving forward here,” McCann said. “As a team, we’ve got to play better in front of him, I think, sometimes. But when there’s a big save to be made, he’s there for us.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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