DETROIT -- OK, now, letβs try that breathing exercise again.
Only this time, itβll come courtesy of a wide-eyed kid whipping up save after wonderful save, when it would've looked to anyone sane as if it'd all go awry again:
This is a Joel Blomqvist appreciation post π€© pic.twitter.com/k5sFs4CUSV
β SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) October 11, 2024
Don't skip that. Press play. Watch it all.
That's how it's done.
That's how Joel Blomqvist, a 22-year-old making his NHL debut, would fight through a frantic first period from which the Penguins would somehow, stunningly emerge tied at a goal apiece ... after which, having had the chance to exhale, they'd go on to run rings around the Red Wings, 6-3, on this Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena on two goals by Anthony Beauvillier, plus two assists each from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, plus just a general pressing of the figurative reset button.
None of which comes close to occurring without the kid stopping 12 of 13 shots in those first 20 minutes -- no fewer than eight of those on the highest of high-danger chances -- as well as 29 of 32 overall, though even the three goals he allowed came on a blistered one-timer, a late change of direction off a teammate's skate and a five-on-three rebound.
βI thought he was terrific, especially early," Mike Sullivan would fairly beam of Blomqvist. "They obviously came out hard, with it being their home opener. I thought Joel made some huge saves at key times to give us a chance to get our legs.β
And when I followed up about the direct correlation between those two distinct elements:
"He made some key saves," Sullivan began in connecting the two. "Then, we were able to get the tying goal. And then, I thought we settled in after that. I thought he had a big impact on our ability to settle into the game."
A big impact. I heard that.
And never mind that, on top of all the standard circumstances that can engulf a young player in his first NHL game, the team's upper management flew Blomqvist's parents, Nina and Anders, here from his native Finland to be first-hand witnesses:
MICHELLE CRECHIOLO / PENGUINS
Nervous much beforehand?
"Of course, a little bit," Blomqvist would reply. "But I think it helped to get a few exhibition games in, so I was a little more comfortable."
And how'd it feel?
βOf course it feels good. Maybe a little bit weird, because itβs something that youβve always been dreaming about and looking forward to. But yeah, Iβm happy it ended up like this. I think itβs a sign that Iβm able to play at this level.β
And how about having his Γ€iti ja isΓ€ watching from the seats?
"It means a lot. For all of us, it's a special moment. First NHL game. It's fun that they were here."
OK, I had to ask, so how about facing a firing squad in the first period?
βYeah, maybe," he'd reply with a small smiled. "I guess you get a feel for the puck early, so maybe it helps. They were pressuring hard, and I had to battle through it.β
The battle that'd set the tone for the broader war.
The assessments in the room were similar at every stall I approached.
Marcus Pettersson: "He made some big stops, you know? I think the start was kinda tight, and they had some unbelievable chances. That's something that we have to look over, it was the same in the first game in that we gave the Rangers great looks. But tonight, he stood on his head and let us kinda settle into the game. So he gave us a lot of confidence."
A lot of confidence. Heard that, too.
Kevin Hayes: "He was amazing, I mean, I'm sure he probably wasn't sleeping all day. It's pretty nerve-wracking, I remember my first NHL game, it's so many emotions. I also think it's easier for skaters to have their first NHL games than goalies because, if you have one bad shift as a player, you have about 30 more shifts. But if you let up a bad goal in your first game, it's kinda hard to come back. I thought he was fantastic. He kept us in there. I thought we kinda tilted the rink the rest of the game, but he was a huge part of the team victory tonight. Super-nice kid, too, and I'm super-happy for him and his family."
A huge part. Heard that, too.
Erik Karlsson: βHe kept us calm. He had a positive effect on the group.β
A positive effect. Heard that, too.
Geno, in his inimitable way: βWow, he's amazing. I mean, first NHL game, first NHL win β I just want to say, 'Keep going, work hard. Just work hard every night, every practice and you deserve tonight.' He stayed on his game every shift, and made some unbelievable saves. Weβre lucky he played tonight.β
Lucky he played. Better believe I heard that one.
Look, I come not to bury Tristan Jarry, if only because I feel I've effectively done that already. To reiterate from my column after the calamitous opener that saw the Rangers smoke him four times before Jeff Jimerson had cleared his throat: I stopped wasting energy on Jarry forever ago, other than awaiting the day he's all-the-way replaced on merit.
Well, not to take this too far, but we could be one day closer to that.
There wasn't much about the Penguins' summer that excited me more than the increasingly optimistic outlook about not one but two richly promising young goaltenders in Blomqvist and 20-year-old Sergei Murashov. It's been far too long that the franchise's fortunes at the sport's most important position have been tied to Jarry and, unless Kyle Dubas can find someone stupid enough to absorb the rest of Jarry's contract -- five years, $26,875,000, signed just last summer -- he'll be here for the foreseeable future, as well.
But whatever. Let it play out, and let it play out, to repeat, on merit.
Let Blomqvist start one of the final two games of this trip, Saturday in Toronto or Monday in Montreal. Or maybe even both. And once Alex Nedeljkovic regains full health, keep the best two. No strings. No promises. And the same goes if Murashov were to start shining in Wilkes-Barre.
Really, who's Jarry to claim No. 1 status?
Based on what?
Seemingly every time the team's really, really needed him, going back to this gem ...
... to Sullivan and staff sitting him just this past spring in the late playoff push, to the 6-0 mega-mess Wednesday night against the Rangers that he couldn't clean up while it still might've been clean-able, all that Jarry's achieved in Pittsburgh today to put a stamp on No. 1 status is this:
β’ He was healthier than Matt Murray
β’ He's seldom been challenged since
β’ That contract
That's it. And that shouldn't -- no, can't -- be what further weighs on anyone in this fold.
If he wants to be No. 1, and he's always had that potential, then he needs to perform like it when the net's his. If he doesn't, then there's nothing to stop Dubas, Sullivan and all concerned from having Nedeljkovic serve as the steady, always-ready veteran while one or both of the youngsters sharpen up, so that stirring scenes like this from the postgame room become commonplace:
SO MANY MILESTONES! pic.twitter.com/OYpXazIYLa
β Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 11, 2024
How's 'Ned and the Kids' for a coined tandem?
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