Just one week before the opening of training camps in the National Hockey League, Casey DeSmith was the Canadiens’ fourth goalie, pending a transaction.
He had just been dumped by the Pittsburgh Penguins for salary cap reasons, and mediocrity, it must be admitted, and Kent Hughes promised to do everything to accommodate him.
We finally found a buyer, his former general manager in Pittsburgh, now president of the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Rutherford, who even paid a third-round pick, while giving up Tanner Pearson and his salary of a few million, hoping to find the DeSmith of formerly in a role of reliable auxiliary.
Eight months later, the fate of the Canucks, sixth in the overall NHL standings, rests on the shoulders of the 32-year-old goaltender, with the injury suffered by Thatcher Demko early in the first round series against the Nashville Predators.
PHOTO STEVE ROBERTS, USA TODAY SPORTS
Casey DeSmith has the fate of the Canucks on his shoulders, after the injury to the team’s number 1 goalie, Thatcher Demko.
After a lackluster first outing on Tuesday, DeSmith achieved the improbable on Thursday in his third career game in the playoffs: beating the Predators in Nashville by allowing only one goal. The Canucks won 2-1, to take a two-games-to-one lead in the series. DeSmith lost his shutout with just over five minutes left in the game.
DeSmith did not stolen This match, we hear, some of his stops and moves seemed unconventional, but we felt him gain confidence as the match progressed, and he was at his best in the third period.
The Canucks, one of the good offensive clubs in the League this winter, have adjusted their game accordingly. They were in defense mode and were content with a measly twelve shots on goal, a team record in the playoffs, including only three in the last period.
They had, after all, managed to take the lead by two goals at the start of the second period by being very opportunistic on the numerical superiority.
For the rest, they managed to keep their opponents on the periphery and blocked 29 shots, one fewer than DeSmith. A sequence illustrates the game well in the third period: veteran defender Ian Cole blocks two consecutive shots, then deflects a puck with his stick while diving in front of the goal.
PHOTO STEVE ROBERTS, USA TODAY SPORTS
The Predators failed where the Canucks excelled. They failed to score in five attempts on the power play, including once at five on three in the third period.
The Canucks were able to win despite a more difficult game from their captain, defenseman Quinn Hughes. He was targeted by his opponents, tough on the forecheck, and he was the victim of several turnovers.
Hughes got two assists, secondary, on the power play, it’s true, but gradually, coach Rick Tocchet called on less gifted, but stronger defenders, and Hughes was avoided faceoffs as much as possible in defensive territory.
The gifted Canucks played 19:29, beaten in this regard by two giants over 6 feet 6 inches, Nikita Zadorov (20:46) and Tyler Myers (21:58). Hughes played less than 20 minutes just three times in the regular season, including one in a 10-1 massacre of the San Jose Sharks in November.
Let’s see if Casey DeSmith holds up in the next few games. He wouldn’t be the first goalie to come out of nowhere to stand out in the playoffs. Let’s just think about Adin Hill last year, from third goalie for the Vegas Golden Knights at the dawn of the playoffs to Stanley Cup champion as a starter. But there is still a long way to go and Vancouver cannot afford to be so timid offensively in the coming matches…