TAMPA, Fla. -- When the Penguins fired goaltending coach Mike Buckley and promoted then-goaltending development coach Andy Chiodo to the main position back in August, one of the first things Ron Hextall said about Chiodo was that he "emphasizes the importance of life habits and the mental approach to the game."
Through the first five months of the season, Tristan Jarry is on pace for a career year. Now a two-time all-star, Jarry's goals-against average of 2.33 is a career-best, and his .921 save percentage ties his previous career-best from the 2019-20 season.
Casey DeSmith had a rough start to the season. Through Jan. 21, DeSmith recorded an .886 save percentage and 3.58 goals-against average through nine appearances, two of which ended in him getting pulled. Since then, he's earned a .934 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average through five games.
Both goaltenders have credited Chiodo with playing a major part in their success this season, specifically with the mental side of the game.
Jarry has on a number of occasions spoken about Chiodo making sure that he is "in the right mindset coming into games." He's also spoken highly of the way Chiodo communicates, calling it "clear and straightforward" in December.
"I think that's the best thing," Jarry said. "You're playing pro hockey or playing the NHL, you want the information as quick as possible and as direct as possible. I think that's been the thing, just being direct and him telling us what he wants from Casey and I. I think it's helped us a lot and just helped us move forward fast."
I asked Jarry at the All-Star Game in Las Vegas last month what exactly it is about Chiodo's approach to the mental game that sets him apart in that regard, and he said that it's "just the way (Chiodo) carries himself."
"He's a funny guy," Jarry added. "He's always happy, he's always smiling. He's very positive. Just the message that he brings Casey and I, it's always positive. That's something you can really get behind. He's someone that if you have a bad day or a bad practice, he's always there to pick you up. I think that's something that really helped us here. It helped me starting to have a good season just to stay so positive. The things we were working on, he was always saying good things. The way he teaches is the same way. So I think I was able to feel good about my game. For him to do that, it really helped."
Mike Sullivan's taken notice of the way Chiodo works with his goaltenders. I asked him Thursday about just what he's seen of Chiodo's work with Jarry and DeSmith this season, and the thing that he pointed to first was something Jarry has also spoken about: The way he communicates.
"The thing that's really impressed me about Andy is he has great listening skills," Sullivan said. "He values their input. And I think because of that, he's developed a great relationship with those guys. There's a lot of trust, and that's an important part of positional coaches. He's done a great job in that."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Jarry will start in net.
• Injured goaltender Louis Domingue, who has been skating on his own for the past week-plus, joined his teammates midway through the optional skate, the first time he's skated in a team setting since he was injured in a morning skate on Jan. 20.
• The full participants in the morning skate included Jarry, DeSmith, Domingue, Mark Friedman, P.O Joseph, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Brian Boyle, Teddy Blueger.
• Blueger, who has been cleared for contact, continued to wear the full face shield.
• Sullivan on Brock McGinn, who has just one assist in his last 13 games: "Ginner helps us win games whether he's on the scoresheet or is not. He's a glue guy. He's hard to play against, he's a good penalty-killer, he brings a physical dimension to our team. He's a real competitive guy. And even though he hasn't scored in the last handful of games, he's had some pretty good looks, like a lot of our team for that matter. So regardless of whether you see his name on the scoresheet, he's an important guy to help this team win games."
• Andrei Vasilevskiy will start in net for Tampa. The Lightning had a full morning skate and used the following lines and pairings:
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Steven Stamkos - Mathieu Joseph
Ross Colton - Anthony Cirelli - Taylor Raddysh
Pat Maroon - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Corey Perry
Victor Hedman - Mikhail Sergachev
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Jan Rutta - Andrej Sustr
• Sullivan called the Lightning a "complete team."
"They're good on both sides of the puck," Sullivan said. "I think it starts with the goaltender, they have a world-class goaltender, but they're a complete team, I think the biggest thing that jumps out at me is their transition game. They're good at stretching the ice, they can get behind our defense if we don't have awareness. If we don't manage the puck, and we're sloppy with our puck possession, then they're a team that can really make you pay. So we're going to have to just make sure that we manage the puck the right way, that we make it a hard game for them, that we force them to have to earn the opportunities they get."