Penguins to start goaltender Casey DeSmith against Predators
The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to start goaltender Casey DeSmith for Sunday’s home game against the Nashville Predators at PPG Paints Arena.
His status was announced in a statement.
In 19 games this season, DeSmith has a 7-4-4 record, a 2.95 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and two shutouts.
DeSmith was in net for the Penguins during their previous meeting with the Predators, a 4-1 road loss at Bridgestone Arena on March 15. During that contest, DeSmith made 21 saves on 24 shots.
Notes:
• Per the team’s statement, injured forward Brock McGinn skated Sunday morning but remains sidelined. Currently assigned to long-term injured reserve, McGinn has missed the past 14 games because of a suspected right hand or arm injury.
• The Penguins enter this contest with a season-worst four-game losing streak.
• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is expected to play in his 1,100th career game.
• The Predators are expected to start goaltender David Rittich. In 11 games this season, Rittich has a 5-3-1 record, a 3.24 goals against average and an .890 save percentage.
• Juuse Saros, the Predators’ top goaltender, is sidelined with an undisclosed illness. As a result, the Predators recalled reserve goaltender Connor Ingram from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Ingram has appeared in two NHL games this season and has a 1-1-0 record, a 3.02 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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