The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head back to Wilkes-Barre down 0-2 in the best-of-5 first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
After losing two tight games in Charlotte, the Penguins must now win three straight at home in order to advance.
The team in front of him might be struggling, but Tristan Jarry has been strong in these first two games, recording a .922 save percentage.
Despite this being his third season in Wilkes-Barre, this is Jarry's first playoff run as the No. 1 goaltender. The first time around, in 2016, Jarry only made three appearances, all in the second round — once in relief of Casey DeSmith, one overtime win as the starter, and one start where he was pulled halfway through the game. Last season, Jarry was backing up in Pittsburgh during Wilkes-Barre's first-round exit.
Needless to say, Jarry is pleased with the opportunity.
"I think it's very exciting to finally get in a playoff series," he told me on Sunday. "Especially with two good teams, I think it's been very close. Both teams have been giving it their best, and I think that makes it that much more fun."
In Game 1 on Friday, Jarry maintained a shutout through the first 46:32 of the game, before Aleksi Saarela's slapshot got past him. Valentin Zykov tied the game with eight minutes remaining. Jarry made five stops in overtime, but Lucas Wallmark won it for Charlotte:
COMEBACK COMPLETE! The @CheckersHockey score three unanswered goals to take Game 1 at home. #WBSvsCHA pic.twitter.com/wXPXFvi3ca
— AHL (@TheAHL) April 21, 2018
Jarry believed that he was interfered with and that the goal shouldn't have counted, but goaltender interference isn't reviewable in the AHL.
Jarry made back-to-back starts and was again in goal on Saturday. He again made a number of huge saves for Wilkes-Barre and bailed the Penguins out as they were down two defensemen, but he allowed two goals and took the loss.
Despite being on the brink of elimination, Jarry is displaying the same calm, even-keel attitude that he's shown throughout his professional career. The task ahead of Jarry and the Penguins will be a tough one, but the netminder is confident in their chances.
"I think our team has played two good games," he said. "I think that we came out strong and we played a hard game. It's just not the results we wanted. But I think if we keep playing the way we do, the results will come."
One thing that has benefited Jarry this spring has been having two strong backup goaltenders in Michael Leighton and Anthony Peters. It allowed him to get some rest as the regular season wound down, but he says it has also helped to have two more voices to give him advice.
"I think it's helped a lot. The three of us are very close, and I think we all have input into how things can be done," Jarry said of his two fellow netminders. "It's great to have another view. It helps to have another perspective, and I think it shows in the games as well."
While a deep playoff run and a Calder Cup is Jarry's immediate goal, he ultimately sees this as a step in his development as he works toward his goal of reaching the NHL and staying there.
"I think just getting better and better, that's been my mindset all year," he said. "That's something that I've been trying to do the last couple years with Pittsburgh that I've been in their organization. This playoff run will help me."
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE
• Apr. 20: at Charlotte, 3-2 overtime loss
• Apr. 21: at Charlotte, 4-1 loss
• This week, Wilkes-Barre signed defenseman Joseph Masonius to an amateur tryout agreement as well as an AHL contract for the 2018-19 season. Masonius was Pittsburgh's sixth-round pick in 2016, and just completed his junior season at the University of Connecticut.
• The Penguins were outshot in every period of the loss in Game 1 -- including a 5-0 shot differential in overtime. They had three power play opportunities, but gave Charlotte seven power plays during the game. Andrey Pedan opened the scoring, and Daniel Sprong got a lucky bounce while trying to dump the puck in from center ice. Charlotte won with a questionable overtime goal, but they also were the dominant team throughout the game.
• Joseph Cramarossa got the Penguins off to an early start in Game 2, tallying a goal 22 seconds into the game. It was the Penguins' only goal. The score might not reflect how tight the game was — the final two goals were empty netters in the final two minutes — but the game was much more evenly-matched than the first game. Still, Wilkes-Barre's offense was missing.
• Defenseman Jarred Tinordi suffered an unknown injury in Game 2, and left the game in the third period. Defenseman Kevin Czuczman injured his left arm in the game. Czuczman did not leave the game but did not see much ice time.
• Special teams were a concern for Wilkes-Barre heading into these playoffs. Their power play finished next-to-last in the league in the regular season at 13.8 percent. The penalty kill finished 20th in the league, at 82 percent. Through two games, the power play is one-for-six, and the penalty kill has allowed one goal over nine opportunities.
• Here are the lines and defense pairings from Saturday:
Garrett Wilson - Jean-Sebastien Dea - Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson - Gage Quinney - Ryan Haggerty
Joseph Cramarossa - Jarrett Burton - Josh Jooris
Anthony Angello - Teddy Blueger - Tom Kostopoulos
Chris Summers - Kevin Czuczman
Andrey Pedan - Lukas Bengtsson
Jarred Tinordi - Zach Trotman
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Wilkes-Barre only scored three goals this week, so we might as well just include all of them. Andrey Pedan opened the scoring for the Penguins this postseason:
Daniel Sprong scored this goal from center ice while trying to dump the puck in:
Joseph Cramarossa scored the lone goal on Saturday:
BEYOND THE AHL
Jordy Bellerive and the Lethbridge Hurricanes trail the Swift Current Broncos 2-0 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Championship series in the WHL playoffs.
It has been a tight series so far. Lethbridge fell 3-2 in Game 1, and lost 4-3 in overtime in Game 2.
Bellerive assisted on both Lethbridge goals in Game 1, and scored this goal in Game 2, the first of the game for the Hurricanes:
Bellerive now has nine goals and 12 assists in 12 games this postseason.
After playing the first two games in Swift Current, the next two games will be in Lethbridge on Tuesday and Wednesday.
PROSPECT FUN THING
Tom Sestito is a big fan of Adam Johnson:
