Hey, Louis Domingue! No Pressure, Buddy!
Eric Hartline-United states Nowadays Sporting activities
If there is certainly anything at all the Stanley Cup playoffs do properly, it really is making persuasive storylines.
And goalies live for those.
Right before Match 1, the tale for Pittsburgh was no matter if Casey DeSmith could outduel the favourite to earn the Vezina Trophy, Igor Shesterkin. But in the sixth period of perform, the interest turned to Louis Domingue.
The career was easy: don’t permit a solitary intention. None. Zero. A single bad bounce and it really is over. That hardly ever happened, simply because he turned away all 17 photographs in 16:40 of enjoy for a 4-3 victory in a game that took three overtimes to finish.
“You desire about that your complete daily life, you might be taking part in in time beyond regulation in the playoffs, are you kidding me?” Domingue instructed the media after Game 1. “You assume you’d be nervous in a condition like that, but it was just pleasurable for me.”
Mr. Spicy Pork and Broccoli was the hero in Game 1. But now he’ll need to do it a few a lot more instances versus a identified New York Rangers group with a person of the finest goalies in hockey.
Call it an prospect of a life span for a 30-calendar year-previous that, in a ideal planet, wouldn’t see a minute of action in the publish-year. But which is some thing we see time and time once again in the playoffs — minor league goaltenders coming in and starting to be the tale. Remember Jussi Markkanen’s operate with the Edmonton Oilers in 2006? Michael Hutchinson’s improbable begins with Colorado in 2020?
Hey, we could see that again. And that’s fairly neat.
The Penguins lost Tristan Jarry to an injuries late in the frequent year and his timeline is nonetheless unclear, even though he could however return in this sequence. DeSmith is mentioned as day-to-day following leaving Sport 1 halfway via the next additional time. In the playoffs, day-to-day could mean just about just about anything. So which is wherever Domingue enters the picture.
Once a critical component of Arizona’s long term, Domingue has bounced all over the NHL for substantially of his eight-year NHL career. In 142 occupation NHL typical period begins, Domingue has performed for 6 NHL groups in his job, such as two begins with the Penguins this season. Domingue was pressured into sizeable action in 2015-16 and 2016-17 with the Coyotes, with 39 and 31 games played, respectively. But in any other case, his vocation has been whole of contact-up appearances and excursions to the minors.
Domingue’s only other playoff action was a seven-save time period with Tampa Bay from Washington on May well 11, 2018 following replacing Andrei Vasilevskiy. In all, Domingue has played effectively two intervals of playoff motion without having permitting a purpose.
So, Domingue coming in and essentially acting as a savior would make for an amazing tale. His teammates like him. He is labored hard to
When it arrives to playoff knowledge, you don’t know what you do not know. And in this circumstance, the Rangers do not definitely know Domingue, and he will not know much about preserving groups in the Stanley Cup playoffs. All Domingue is familiar with is that he wants to get, and every activity he begins is a possible tryout for the pending UFA.
As uncertainty surrounds Pittsburgh’s crease, the team’s destiny is in the fingers of a goaltender with a ton to verify. He is got experience, which include a 21-5 run with Tampa Bay in 2018-19. Regardless of bouncing all-around a large amount, teams even now benefit his experience and his ability to steal a sport or two along the way. Which is about to be examined in Video game 2, and, potentially, past.
Thankfully, Domingue will be considerably superior suited for the problem. It is really challenging to continue to be targeted when you’re pressured to sit in the corner halfway down the ice from your crew in a triple-overtime affair and pressured to help save a game in opposition to a better-seeded New York team.
If there is certainly ever a time to show on your own, it’s all through the playoffs. That’s what Domingue and the Penguins are confronted with in the quick-term, hopefully. The 1st spherical hardly ever appears to disappoint, and no matter who you cheer for, the Pittsburgh-New York collection just received 50x much more fascinating.
No stress, Louis.
