Penguins' Casey DeSmith, Rickard Rakell out for Game 2 at Rangers
As had been expected since early Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be down to their third-choice goaltender and also without a key forward when they look to grab a 2-0 first-round series lead at the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has confirmed that neither goalie Casey DeSmith nor forward Rickard Rakell will play in Thursday's Game 2 held at Madison Square Garden due to the injuries they picked up in the Game 1 triple-overtime win on Tuesday evening:
DeSmith, atop the depth chart because standard starter Tristan Jarry has been out with a reported right foot injury since the middle of April, exited Tuesday's contest during the second overtime period with what's been called a lower-body injury and was replaced by backup Louis Domingue. Domingue made only two NHL regular-season starts in 2021-22 but produced 17 saves to keep the Pens alive until Evgeni Malkin scored his game-winner in triple overtime.
As Jon Lane noted for the league's website, Domingue will be making his first-ever career Stanley Cup Playoffs start. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh recalled Alex D'Orio from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League to serve as Domingue's backup for at least Game 2.
It's assumed Jarry won't be available for Game 3 on Saturday night in Pittsburgh, and DeSmith's status for the weekend is unclear as of Thursday afternoon:
Meanwhile, Rakell went down with an apparent head injury when he was hit by Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren late in the first period on Tuesday. The visibly shaken 29-year-old never returned to the game and, like DeSmith, is officially considered "day-to-day."
Rakell joined the Penguins via a trade from the Anaheim Ducks before the March deadline and tallied four goals and nine assists across 19 games with his new club.
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