Casey DeSmith: Records First Shutout of the Season in 7-0 Win

Casey DeSmith achieved his first shutout of the season, making 24 saves in the Dallas Stars' commanding 7-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. DeSmith is characterized as a sturdy backup goaltender with a career 2.81 GAA and .909 save percentage across 165 games with Pittsburgh and Vancouver. The Stars signed him to a three-year, $3 million deal to serve behind Jake Oettinger, with the expectation that he would play 25-27 games per season to keep Oettinger fresh for the postseason. DeSmith and Oettinger are anticipated to form one of the NHL's strongest goaltending duos. In the 2022-23 season, DeSmith struggled with a 15-16-4 record, a 3.17 GAA, and a .905 save percentage in 38 appearances, his worst performance to date. However, he showed improvement after the All-Star break with a .910 save percentage in 16 outings. He was traded from Pittsburgh to Montreal in the offseason and then to Vancouver in September, where he was set to compete for the backup job. Previously, with Pittsburgh, he managed 11 wins, a 2.79 GAA, and a .914 save percentage in 26 games, and even started playoff games before suffering a season-ending injury. He signed a two-year contract with Pittsburgh, locking him in as Jarry's backup through the 2023-24 campaign. DeSmith had previously outplayed Tristan Jarry for starts, earning a 11-7-0 record with a 2.54 GAA and .912 save percentage. He was expected to be the No. 2 option behind Jarry, but his fantasy value was limited. In 2019-20, he was expected to be the backup behind Matt Murray, but Jarry became the starter, and DeSmith took the backup role after not playing in the NHL the previous year. He secured the backup job in Pittsburgh in 2018-19, appearing in 36 games with a 15-11-5 record, 2.75 GAA, and three shutouts, potentially logging 30-35 games due to Murray's injury history. He was considered to be slightly behind Tristan Jarry for the No. 2 job in Pittsburgh in 2018-19, but the competition was open, and he could have seen NHL time due to Murray's injuries.