Tristan Jarry is in an interesting spot.
He's been up and down between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh in his four professional seasons. With Casey DeSmith no longer exempt from waivers, Jarry has spent the entire season behind him on the depth chart, and has had success as Wilkes-Barre's starter.
Jarry has appeared in 27 games, posting a 2.75 goals-against average, .912 save percentage, and 15-9-3 record despite the defense corps in front of him being depleted for much of the season.
He's been contributing offensively a bit this season as well. He's recorded two assists, and the first goaltender goal in Wilkes-Barre franchise history:
As to where Jarry goes from here ... it isn't that clear.
DeSmith signed a three-year extension in January that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2021-22. Next season, Jarry loses his waiver-exempt status, and his contract also becomes a one-way deal. He'll get paid $700,000 regardless of if he's in the NHL or the AHL, although he would not count towards the cap if he's in the AHL.
Because of these factors, Jarry's name has been mentioned as a potential chip leading up to this month's trade deadline. Despite all the swirling rumors, Jarry remains as level-headed and composed as ever.
"You just focus on where you're playing, and the team that you're with," Jarry told me of his mindset this season. "There's nothing really you can do to control that. Just making sure you can do what you can where you are."
And on the DeSmith extension? One of the factors that could lead to Jarry's departure from the Penguins organization? Jarry is optimistic about that as well. Jarry and DeSmith are close, they both turned pro in the Penguins' organization in 2015-16, and have spent a lot of time together. He's happy for his friend's success, but also for the Penguins' organization having another capable goaltender locked up.
"I think that's great for him, it's a huge accomplishment," said Jarry. "He'll be in Pittsburgh for a long time. So it's good to have another goalie locked up for that long, it'll be great for Pittsburgh to see all the goalies that we have."
Jarry and Anthony Peters have benefited this season from the work of Andy Chiodo, who is in his first season as the Penguins' goaltender development coach. Chiodo is based out of Pittsburgh, but makes regular trips to Wilkes-Barre, and occasionally Wheeling. Jarry has enjoyed learning from Chiodo.
"He's been doing a great job, he sees us whenever he can," Jarry said. "He's been great with Anthony and I this year. He taught us a lot, he showed us a lot, I think it's only getting better."
Jarry said that he's done a little research of his own on Chiodo's background, and Chiodo shares some stories on his career experiences. He hadn't heard of Chiodo's big claim to fame though, when Chiodo's first career NHL win ended an 18-game winless streak for the Penguins.
While Jarry would surely prefer to be playing in the NHL again, he says that being back in the AHL and taking on a bigger role for the team has been goof for his confidence.
For the remainder of the season, Jarry just wants to focus on getting better, wherever he may be.
"That's been my mindset ever since I've started playing pro here," said Jarry. "Just to get better every game, better every year."
____________________
THE ROSTER MOVES
• Danny Fick was re-assigned to Wheeling after playing just one game for Wilkes-Barre.
THE INJURIES
• Thomas Di Pauli hasn’t played since Dec. 16 with a lower-body injury. … Ben Sexton was injured after two hits on Jan. 5. … Jeff Taylor and Sam Lafferty were both injured Jan. 18 and have been out since. ... Kevin Czuczman was injured Feb. 1. and missed the following game
• Matt Abt, injured since Jan. 18, returned to the lineup on Feb. 1.
THE NEWS
• 27-year-old defenseman Tim Erixon, who has been playing on a professional tryout contract this season, was signed to a full AHL contract for the remainder of the season.
• Jarry is getting a new (yes, Penguins) mask design, as designed by a fan. Fans can submit their designs here.
• Jean Sebastien-Dea was suspended for two games for leaving the bench to join an altercation on the ice on Feb. 1. He'll return this Friday in Milwaukee.
THE GAMES
• Feb. 1: vs. Cleveland, 7-2 win
The Penguins were locked in on Friday.
Joseph Blandisi, Ethan Prow, and Dea all scored in the first period to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead. The Monsters got on the board in the second period, but Ryan Haggerty's 10th goal of the season re-established the three-goal lead.
Dea scored his second goal of the game 1:16 into the third period, and the Monsters answered 33 seconds later. Anthony Angello scored his 15th goal of the season, and Sam Miletic capped off the win with his fourth. Miletic also had three assists in the win.
The Penguins went 2-for-4 on the power play, and 6-for-7 on the penalty kill.
Jarry took the win with 33 saves on 35 shots.
• Feb. 2: vs. Bridgeport, 2-1 loss
All three goals Saturday were scored in the first period.
The Sound Tigers took a lead 1:57 into the game, and Prow tied the game on the power play at 14:42. The Sound Tigers scored the eventual game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining in the period.
Haggerty's six shots led the team. It was the eighth time this season he's recorded at least five shots. He had 10 shots over two games this weekend.
The power play went 1-for-3. The penalty kill was 5-for-5. Jarry took the loss with 35 saves on 37 shots.
THE LEADERS
• Goals: Blueger, 21 in 45 games.
• Assists: Lafferty, 19 in 41 games; Prow, 19 in 46 games
• Points: Blueger, 39 in 45 games.
THE COMBINATIONS
Cam Brown - Joseph Blandisi - Sam Miletic
Adam Johnson – Linus Olund – Anthony Angello
Ryan Scarfo – Jarrett Burton – Ryan Haggerty
Jimmy Hayes – Joseph Cramarossa – Pat McGrath
Tim Erixon – Zach Trotman
Matt Abt – Ethan Prow
Chris Summers – Macoy Erkamps
THE STANDINGS
• After this week, the Penguins record is 23-19-4-1. They remain in sixth place in the eight-team Atlantic Division.
• The power play rose to 17.6 percent, 19th in the 31-team league. The penalty kill is operating at 79.3 percent overall, 24th in the league.
THE SCHEDULE
• The Penguins are on the road this week against the Western Conference's Central Division. They'll visit the Rockford IceHogs (21-19-3-5) on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Admirals (22-17-8-1) on Friday, and the Grand Rapids Griffins (26-15-3-4) on Saturday.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Blandisi scored his third goal as a Penguin in just his third game:
This goal from Dea is honestly the least impressive thing of this sequence, following Abt's work on forcing the turnover and Adam Johnson's beautiful feed:
The speedy Cam Brown had the initial chance here, and Miletic roofed the rebound into the wide-open net:
Prow's power play goal was the Penguins' lone goal Saturday:
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
Some of the Penguins tested their Super Bowl knowledge. There wasn't much:
Just how much do the #WBSPens know about the ? big game ?? Our friends @RobinDeehan & @AJD_IV from @SPORTS_WBRE wanted to find out ahead of tonight's super matchup. Take a look at the results here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p8QnSfEOnY
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) February 3, 2019