Penguins notebook: When will backup goaltender Casey DeSmith play next?

Just over two weeks into the season, Penguins backup goaltender Casey DeSmith still is looking for his first win.

But first, he needs to find his next start.

Because of the nature of the Penguins schedule to open the 2021-22 campaign, which has yet to include any games on back-to-back days, DeSmith has been limited to one game, a 5-4 overtime road loss to the Florida Panthers on Oct. 14. DeSmith made 34 saves on 39 shots.

While the result was not what DeSmith was looking for, simply playing in a game of consequence for the first time since he suffered a groin injury that ended his 2021-22 season May 3 was significant.

“It wasn’t displeased with how I played,” DeSmith said. “It was a pretty high-event game. There were (16 combined power-play opportunities) in the game. And obviously, overtime and stuff like that. So there was a lot of quality looks in the game. I thought I made some really good saves. It was definitely good to get back into it.

“Looking forward to getting back into there.”

When he gets back in there is a matter of speculation.

Like most teams, the Penguins typically deploy their backup goaltender in games on back-to-back nights. But no such scenario exists until they have road contests against the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals on Nov. 13 and 14.

“A very spread-out schedule here in October,” DeSmith said. “Good for (teammates) to kind of save the legs a little bit and put our best foot forward every night. So that’s obviously a positive. For me, a couple more games on the bench than I would like.

Coach Mike Sullivan implied the team won’t wait long to give DeSmith his next start.

“We certainly want to keep both guys sharp,” Sullivan said. “That’s an important part of, I think, managing the workload of the goaltenders. One of the things we take into consideration when making that decision is the duration in between starts. Obviously, we don’t want any one of them going too long in between starts before they get back into the net. It doesn’t necessarily put them in the best position to be successful when they do get into the net if that duration becomes too long. We’ve looked at the schedule, and I’ve always said this, we’ve penciled in guys in certain spots where we think it is advantageous to keep them sharp and keep them at their best. But they’re etched in pencil for a reason.”

Sullivan forges on with Olympic duties

On Wednesday, Stan Bowman resigned from his general manager positions with the Chicago Blackhawks and United States men’s Olympic team in the wake of revelations that the Blackhawks, under Bowman’s watch, ignored allegations of sexual assault on a player by video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

Sullivan, who briefly worked for the Blackhawks as a player development coach during the 2014-15 season, was named as head coach of the United States men’s Olympic team this past summer by USA Hockey.

On Wednesday, Sullivan was asked for his observations on the entire ordeal.

“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate circumstance,” Sullivan said. “It’s hard for me to comment on it because I know very little about it honestly. From my standpoint, it’s such an honor and a privilege to coach the Olympic team. My focus is really on those things that I can control. We’re going to do everything in our power as a coaching staff to try to win a gold medal. For that opportunity, I’m so appreciative of. I will trust that USA Hockey will put the right people in place to try to help us have success.”