COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Casey DeSmith has tended goal for a lot of years, which means he has given up a lot of goals.
More than he would care to remember, probably, unless the objective is to put himself into therapy.
But never, DeSmith said, had he allowed one quite like the game-winner in the Blue Jackets' 3-1 exhibition victory against the Penguins at Nationwide Arena today.
Chances are that not many other goaltenders have, either.
Eric Robinson was credited with it at 2:12 of the third period, after his shot from the hash mark along the left-wing boards caromed off the leg of Penguins defenseman Erik Gudbranson, then sailed past DeSmith on the short side before striking him near the nameplate on his sweater and dropping over the goal line to break a 1-1 tie.
"The guy shot it like, 6 feet wide," DeSmith said. "Then it went off Gudbranson's pants and off my back and in. It is probably the weirdest goal I've ever let in. ... It was just one of those goals. You could do that play probably 100,000 times and it would never happen again."
Smiling, he added, "I'll take it during the preseason."
That's understandable, since this defeat didn't cost the Penguins in the standings. Besides, DeSmith could be charitable about Robinson's goal because he's been so stingy about giving up any others.
The Blue Jackets' only other one came when veteran winger Cam Atkinson beat him from the inner edge of the right circle at 15:24 of the first period. DeSmith finished with 19 saves in his second strong performance of the preseason, as he'd rejected 23 of 25 shots during a 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo Monday.
"I felt really good against the Sabres," he said. "Today was definitely a different (type of) game. I was getting tested a lot less today than I did in that game. ... I saw the puck pretty well today. I thought my rebound control was amazing today. I could have done some things better, obviously -- I probably could have played that first goal better -- but other than that, I was pretty happy."
DeSmith, it should be noted, wasn't the only one to mention how few second chances he allowed.
"It's almost like he's got a Velcro chest," Gudbranson said. "Everything either sticks there and he catches it, he gobbles it up, or it's sitting right in front of him and he covers it pretty quickly."
DeSmith is competing with Tristan Jarry for the No. 2 job behind Matt Murray. The Penguins had been expected to trade Jarry, rather than risk losing him or DeSmith on waivers by assigning one of them to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this fall, but no deal has come together and it's not clear how the situation will be resolved before the regular season begins.
"Obviously, it's a business and you never know what everybody is thinking, so I'm just trying to play solid and put my best foot forward," DeSmith said. "Everything else is out of my control."
• Defenseman Juuso Riikola scored the Penguins' only goal, as he beat Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo from the left point just 2:03 into the opening period. The goal initially was credited to Penguins forward Thomas Di Pauli, but later was changed to Riikola.
• Nick Bjugstad killed penalties for a minute, 55 seconds against the Blue Jackets, which is 16 seconds more shorthanded time than he got in 64 games with the Penguins and Panthers last season. That's no accident, because the Penguins are trying to figure out if he can be effective when they're down a man. "What we're hoping for is that he can be a real effective penalty-killer," Mike Sullivan said. "And I think he's tracking that way. He's getting a lot of reps here in the exhibition season, and we're putting him in those positions on purpose. We really think he's starting to grasp some of the concepts and the strategies that we have on our penalty-kill. He has all the attributes to be a good penalty-killer. He's big, has a long reach. He has good hockey sense, and he can skate."
• Jared McCann, who failed to score a goal in 14 of his final 15 games with the Penguins last season, including four in the playoffs, nearly got a shorthanded one late in the second period. He took a pass in the slot from Teddy Blueger, but Korpisalo turned his shot aside. "Teddy made a great play, a great pass," McCann said. "I was kind of second-guessing myself about whether I should deke or shoot. I should have shot quicker." He said, though, that his indecision is not a carryover from his late-season struggle to get a goal. "In the playoffs, I separated my shoulder," McCann said. "I feel like I'm good to go now. I'm completely healthy. Last season is over with."
• The Blue Jackets dressed a lineup that included several relatively big names, including Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner, David Savard and Atkinson, while the Penguins went primarily with prospects and players a few notches down from the top of the depth chart. "We anticipated that they would have a stronger lineup," Sullivan said. "At home, most teams tend to. ... We knew it was going to be a good test for our guys. It was a good challenge for them against some real good players."
• Gudbranson, who is 6 foot 5, 217 pounds, had several run-ins with Columbus center Kevin Stenlund (6 foot 4, 210 pounds), at one point dropping him in the neutral zone with a shoulder check.
• Dominik Kahun, who has gotten time alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel during this camp, had Bjugstad and McCann for linemates against Columbus. "We're just trying to watch him and see where he fits best for our team," Sullivan said. "But he's a good, young player. ... He's one of those guys we can move up and down the lineup."
• The Penguins, 1-1-1 in preseason play, will visit Detroit Sunday at 5 p.m.
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