DeSmith, Penguins Blank Senators, 2-0

Casey DeSmith’s turbulent, roller-coaster ride of a season continued on an upswing last night at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Considered one of the Penguins’ major question marks entering the second half of the season, DeSmith authored a flawless 26-save performance to blank the home-standing Senators, 2-0. For the record, Casey’s second shutout in only 11 starts and his second strong outing in a row.

He had a little help from his friends. In my humble opinion, our boys played their best two-way game in a long (long) time. Led by an inspired effort from captain Sidney Crosby, the forwards stuck to their defensive assignments like glue. And our defensive corps, which has a penchant for unraveling down low, held up surprisingly well. I was particularly impressed with the work of our third defensive pairing, Mike Matheson and Chad Ruhwedel. They made several strong plays along the back wall while under pressure to move the puck from harm’s way.

As an aside, Matheson bears little resemblance to the fragile, turnover-prone defender we acquired from Florida. But I digress.

Back to DeSmith. When Nick Paul sprung Dylan Gambrell on a breakaway five minutes into the second period, Casey effortlessly tracked Gambrell’s forehand-to-backhand move and coolly made the save.

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