DeSmtih will get the starting nod on the road against Washington on Thursday, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
DeSmith has given up 11 goals over his last two contests and will now be facing arguably the greatest goal scorer in NHL history in Alex Ovechkin. On the year, the 31-year-old netminder is sporting a 7-9-3 record and a career-worst 3.34 GAA. If DeSmith continues to struggle, Dustin Tokarski could get some starts while Tristan Jarry (upper body) is sidelined.