Mark Madden: Can the Penguins win a playoff series with Casey DeSmith in goal?

After Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith made 52 saves to shut out Boston, 4-0, at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, coach Mike Sullivan wouldn’t directly address the possibility of DeSmith starting in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Nor would winger Jake Guentzel.

Nor would winger Jason Zucker.

Nor would DeSmith himself.

All spoke vaguely, Sullivan most so. Sullivan proclaimed he has faith in the group, blah, blah, blah.

But DeSmith almost certainly will start Game 1 of the playoffs.

If you want further evidence, No. 1 goaltender Tristan Jarry had to be pushed across the ice on a chair to be part of the Penguins’ team photo Wednesday. Jarry later was spotted sporting a walking boot on what is reportedly a broken right foot.

Can the Penguins win a playoff series with DeSmith in goal?

Probably not. Given their recent play, they’d be an underdog to win a series with Jarry in goal.

But DeSmith isn’t hopeless. His 52 stops were the most made during a shutout in Penguins history. (That’s a bit deceptive. The Penguins did a good job forcing Boston to shoot from the outside, especially in the first two periods. But that’s a good thing.)

DeSmith was as sharp as his stats. He was square to the shooter, mostly got on top of the blue paint and controlled rebounds after an early bout of battling the puck.

DeSmith is not a bad goaltender. He’s got a good skill set. He’s athletic, battles and never gives up on plays.

But he’s small. DeSmith is listed at 6 feet but looks more like 5-foot-10.

DeSmith has never been a No. 1 goalie at the NHL level. He’s never played one minute of a Stanley Cup playoff game.

But DeSmith has played OK lately.

Prior to Thursday’s shutout, he made 27 stops in a 2-1 defeat at Boston on Saturday. (Although both goals came in the first 121 seconds, and each was a bit wonky.) DeSmith also made 33 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over visiting Nashville on April 10.

DeSmith’s top qualification is he’s the last man standing. (Well, not quite the last man. Louis Domingue is the current backup. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Although Domingue has played 18 minutes and 25 seconds of NHL playoff hockey: seven saves, no goals against with Tampa Bay in 2018. Roll over, Wendell Young, and tell Jeff Zatkoff the news.)

Best-case scenario: DeSmith starts the playoffs and gets a split in the first two games. Then Jarry returns.

That’s what third-stringer Zatkoff did in 2016 when he beat the New York Rangers in the Penguins’ first postseason game then lost the second. The Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup. Matt Murray got the other 15 wins.

DeSmith is capable of what Zatkoff did. Maybe more, but definitely that. (That’s if the Penguins insulate him. A backup goalie often brings out his team’s best defensive instincts. Somebody tell Evgeni Malkin.)

When the playoffs come, the Penguins will have no choice but to talk about DeSmith’s capabilities at that level. (Especially when he displays them.)

But for now, DeSmith’s teammates are saying the right things, albeit without referencing the postseason.

“He’s just a special goaltender,” said Guentzel after Thursday’s victory. “He’s come in all year and done the job for us. Obviously a really good effort by him. He kept us in the game and made a lot of key saves.”

An accurate description.

But will that description still apply in, say, three weeks?