CLN: change regex try/except to checks
Just a general question - is this a performance gain or just an approach you find more appropriate? > Just a general question - is this a performance gain or just an approach you find more appropriate?

The latter.  In a lot of places we have try/excepts that obscure what the expected failure mode is, sometimes with real consequences (eg #28122).  This case is pretty benign. Sounds good thanks for clarifying