The decision by Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan to start Casey DeSmith on Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks was, from this vantage point, a bit of a surprise.
It is not that DeSmith hasn’t earned playing time with his performance this season — because he certainly has — but it came at a time where everything seemed to be pointing toward Matt Murray getting an opportunity to get back in the crease and start working toward retaking his starting job.
Murray played well enough in his return to the lineup on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings and made some huge saves in overtime to give the Penguins a chance to pick up the win.