WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Defenseman David Warsofsky scored with only 1.2 seconds left in overtime to lift the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-2 win over Syracuse on Wednesday, but the game’s real hero was standing at the other end of the ice.
The biggest reason the Penguins even made it to the extra session was second-year goaltender Tristan Jarry, who stymied the Crunch on a 5-on-3 power play opportunity early in the third period and made a number of key saves down the stretch.
“Tristan was the difference,” Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli said at the team’s practice facility Thursday. “We didn’t have a very good game, but he gave us a chance to win.
“It’s great that we got the win for him, because he was there all night when we had breakdowns, and we had a lot of breakdowns.”
Jarry made 39 saves in total, his second-most in any game with the Penguins and a good sign that this season could end quite differently from last for the British Columbia native.
The 21-year-old, who speaks with the team-first attitude of a veteran captain, sputtered in the second half of 2015-16 as the team’s No. 1 goalie. Starting with an overtime loss on Jan. 29, he dropped 11 of 12 starts in net and never fully recovered. When the Calder Cup playoffs eventually arrived, he was benched in favor of unproven rookie Casey DeSmith.
Determined to make sure that wouldn’t happen again this season, Jarry revamped his practice habits and worked extensively with Pittsburgh goalie development coach Mike Buckley to correct any flaws on or off the ice.
Namely, what was going on above his shoulders.
“(Buckley) wanted me to be prepared to play every night,” Jarry said. “I embraced coming into the season being able to play every night and making sure I have the stamina for it. Just mainly working on my mental game.”
He has reaped the results in the form of 19 wins (second-most in the AHL), a 2.21 goals-against average (second among goalies with at least 20 starts) and a .921 save percentage (seventh among qualifying goalies).
According to Jarry, both his individual success and the team’s performance are a product of the “upbeat” atmosphere in practice and game preparation. He said that allows him to play with confidence, and he no longer gets rattled if he makes a mistake.
“I always like (opposing) teams to play me hard,” he said. “You always want to be in a tight game every night, and you always want to be battling.”
That mentality has allowed Jarry to keep a stranglehold on the No. 1 spot, even with DeSmith having an excellent season in his own right (13 wins, 2.26 GAA, .913 SV%).
Ultimately, Jarry will be judged on his performance the rest of this season. The Penguins currently hold a nine-point cushion on second-place Lehigh Valley, but the two teams will meet 10 times before the regular season ends.
So, the 2013 second-round pick might literally be the key to a division crown and home-ice advantage.
But before all of that, he will represent the Atlantic Division in Monday's All-Star Challenge in Allentown, Pa. Not surprisingly, he is treating the exhibition event like any other regular-season game.
“It’s never fun getting scored on,” he said with a smile. “Not a lot of people get to go to this, so it’s just one of those things where you go out there and do your best. Everyone wants to win.”
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE
• Jan. 25: Syracuse, 3-2 win (OT)
• Jan. 27: at Utica, 3-2 win
• Jan. 28: at Binghamton, 6-2
A third-period goal in Saturday’s victory over Binghamton gave veteran forward Tom Kostopoulos his 500th career AHL point. Even at age 38, 'TK' remains one of the team’s most consistent contributors with 14 goals this season.
Earlier in the week, Warsofsky was selected to replace Jake Guentzel in tonight’s AHL All-Star Challenge. He joins Jarry and Donatelli as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton representatives.
On the injury front, Oskar Sundqvist remained out with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Tim Erixon returned to the lineup Friday and scored in the victory over Utica.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has now won four games in a row and 11 of its past 13.
Up next: The Penguins return from the All-Star break Friday, facing St. John’s at home and hosting Lehigh Valley the following night.
Goals of the week: Our AHL goal of the week goes to this Danny Kristo goal in the victory Saturday in Binghamton, mostly due to Derrick Pouliot's effort on the assist:
Warsofsky also gets the honors for his overtime goal Wednesday:
BEYOND THE AHL
Brown forward and Hollidaysburg native Sam Lafferty scored two goals and assisted on another in a 4-3 loss to Yale on Friday. He leads the team this season with 27 points.
TOP-PICK TRACKER
• Goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 19 saves in his only start for Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League last week, picking up a loss against Örebro HK.
• Forward Kasper Björkqvist had six shots and was held pointless for Providence College in a weekend sweep over New Hampshire.
• Forward Daniel Sprong had no points and six shots on goal in the Charlottetown Islanders’ (QMJHL) overtime loss to Cape Breton on Friday.
WHEELING REPORT
The Nailers remained red-hot through Saturday, beating Toledo, Quad City and Brampton to extend their win streak to six. Their comeback effort fell short on Saturday as they fell 5-4 to Kalamazoo.
Up next: After finishing a stretch of four games in five days on Sunday, Wheeling has three days off before facing Cincinnati and Kalamazoo (twice) on the road to conclude the week.
Goals of the week: Our ECHL goal of the week goes to Gage Quinney for his wraparound goal in Kalamazoo. Quinney finished the week with two goals and five assists:
Darryl Lloyd returned to the lineup Friday and scored one goal in the Nailers' win. This was Lloyd's first game since getting injured on opening night and having back surgery:
PROSPECT WATCH
A look at how the Penguins’ prospects and other minor-leaguers under NHL contracts have done this season:
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