DK: What's more important, Jarry or making the playoffs?
This isn't, I swear, about who's to blame for a given game, or even a given goal.
As I've forever seen it, across the scope of team sports, there's seldom cause to isolate any single individual, and the Penguins' 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets tonight at PPG Paints Arena wasn't some exception. If anything, as I lay out in a second column, the blame's spread all over.
No, it's about making the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Or it's supposed to be.
Hear me out: Of the 38 NHL goaltenders who've logged 1,000-plus minutes in the crease to date, meaning basically the starters, Tristan Jarry's 3.43 goals-against average now ranks 36th, and his .889 save percentage now ranks 31st.
That's objectively terrible. I'm not expressing an opinion.
What's worse, if far less tangible, he's given up goals at the worst times. Not least of which is near the start of almost every start he makes.
This was Columbus' first shot of the evening and, within that, the sixth time in Jarry's 19 starts that the first shot's beaten him:
“It’s tough," Jarry would reply when asked about giving up yet another first-shot goal. "There’s not much different I would do on that. That guy comes down and shoots it ... it could be a different outcome, but he comes down, he has a lot of time, and he’s able to make that play quickly and he’s able to get it through my legs. Obviously, it’s tough. I don’t think anybody wants the first shot to go in, but it’s something that I think if I defend a little bit better on it, maybe play a little bit deeper, I think I could have that, maybe.”
It's also the 14th time he's given up a goal within the opponent's first five shots.
Per NHL research requested during this game, the franchise record for a goaltender giving up first-shot goals was Tom Barrasso with seven over the full 1997-98 season. The only other goaltender with six, also over a full season, was Matt Murray in 2018-19.
The league record of 12 was set by the Flyers' Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011-12, and Jarry's at precisely that same pace.
Critical context: Rickard Rakell had just scored two goals -- beauties, too -- to put the Penguins ahead, 3-1, midway through the third period.
The Blue Jackets made a routine dump that Jarry duly stopped behind the net, after which he flung the puck not to an open space but right into both Matt Grzelcyk and Dmitri Voronkov, only to have it carom right back and, within seconds, get deposited easily by Voronkov. And just like that it's 3-2, and the 16,060 on hand who'd been all revved up by Rakell fell familiarly silent.
The main guy behind the bench didn't seem wild about it, either.
“We had complete control of the game," Mike Sullivan would say of that sequence. "We don’t execute on a goalie exchange on our breakout and the puck ends up in the back of our net. I feel like there wasn’t a lot going on there. To a certain extent, it felt like we self inflicted a little bit there. Now it’s a one-goal game."
There wasn't a lot going on at all. Other than the Penguins playing well. And Jarry being in net.
... Jarry had his heels all the way back on the goal line and gave himself little chance to stop Fantilli or anyone who'd have had the puck between the hashes.
An uneventful overtime came and went, and it was on to the shootout.
Here's why that'd matter more than most:
NHL
Uh-huh. By January standards, this was big. Which, as ever, is when Jarry's at his smallest:
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) January 8, 2025
For the record, that was three shots and zero saves, counting Fantilli clanging the left post between those shooters. And both goals, by the way, went five-hole. Along the ice. Paddle up.
“It’s hard to win when you give up two out of three," Sullivan would say of Jarry in the shootout. "We’d like him to be better there."
As in actually making contact with a puck?
Look, I don't intend to be mean. And if I come across as exasperated on this subject, it's only because ... man, how much longer can we talk about this?
Better yet, how much longer can Sullivan and, not to be forgotten, Kyle Dubas watch this?
Jarry's not it. He's never been it. He'll turn 30 in April and, judging by how he's handled previous Aprils, he won't be it then, either.
So what's the hope here, exactly? Some mystical breakthrough?
To be fair, Alex NedeljkoviÄ, as he'd be the first to attest, hasn't been any better. His own statistics -- 3.22 goals-against average, .888 save percentage -- are in line with Jarry's. But to further be fair, NedeljkoviÄ wasn't signed to start. He wasn't about to be the one to push the Penguins into the playoffs. That's why Dubas signed him this past summer to a two-year contract at annual value of $2.5 million. That's backup money. He'd be No. 2 no matter what.
The glaringly obvious solution would be to trade Jarry, presuming there'd be a GM dumb enough to a meaningful percentage of the five-year, $26.875 million contract Dubas handed him two summers ago. But I can't conceive of such a thing.
OK, then, why not waive Jarry, pray to the hockey gods for 24 full hours for that hypothetical GM dummy to take him, then send him right back to Wilkes-Barre?
From there, bring Joel Blomqvist back. He hasn't killed it in the AHL -- 3.11 goals-against average, .910 save percentage -- but he's still had the best performances of anyone in a Pittsburgh sweater, and he'll have the poise to handle anything.
Or, that failing, bring up Filip Larsson. He's a 26-year-old recently returned from Sweden who's been awesome in the AHL -- 2.23 goals-against average, .932 save percentage, league-leading four shutouts -- through 11 starts. He'd hardly pioneer being a goaltender to bloom in his mid-20s.
But don't pretend the answer's here. That's not fair to anyone involved, least of all the current players, who, while far from perfect, have made real strides over the past six weeks.
What matters more, attempting to salvage Jarry and/or his contract toward a trade, or making the playoffs while Sidney Crosby's still a point-a-game star?
This was Dubas in early October: “What we’re going to try to accomplish this season and what our goal is, is to be playing very meaningful hockey in March, April and beyond.”
That won't happen with Jarry. He knows it. And he's wasting everyone's time and energy.
THE ASYLUM
DK: What's more important, Jarry or making the playoffs?
This isn't, I swear, about who's to blame for a given game, or even a given goal.
As I've forever seen it, across the scope of team sports, there's seldom cause to isolate any single individual, and the Penguins' 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets tonight at PPG Paints Arena wasn't some exception. If anything, as I lay out in a second column, the blame's spread all over.
No, it's about making the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Or it's supposed to be.
Hear me out: Of the 38 NHL goaltenders who've logged 1,000-plus minutes in the crease to date, meaning basically the starters, Tristan Jarry's 3.43 goals-against average now ranks 36th, and his .889 save percentage now ranks 31st.
That's objectively terrible. I'm not expressing an opinion.
What's worse, if far less tangible, he's given up goals at the worst times. Not least of which is near the start of almost every start he makes.
This was Columbus' first shot of the evening and, within that, the sixth time in Jarry's 19 starts that the first shot's beaten him:
Dmitri Voronkov with the redirect. Good goal.
“It’s tough," Jarry would reply when asked about giving up yet another first-shot goal. "There’s not much different I would do on that. That guy comes down and shoots it ... it could be a different outcome, but he comes down, he has a lot of time, and he’s able to make that play quickly and he’s able to get it through my legs. Obviously, it’s tough. I don’t think anybody wants the first shot to go in, but it’s something that I think if I defend a little bit better on it, maybe play a little bit deeper, I think I could have that, maybe.”
It's also the 14th time he's given up a goal within the opponent's first five shots.
Per NHL research requested during this game, the franchise record for a goaltender giving up first-shot goals was Tom Barrasso with seven over the full 1997-98 season. The only other goaltender with six, also over a full season, was Matt Murray in 2018-19.
The league record of 12 was set by the Flyers' Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011-12, and Jarry's at precisely that same pace.
By itself, that means little. Quirky stat.
But again, go broader:
Critical context: Rickard Rakell had just scored two goals -- beauties, too -- to put the Penguins ahead, 3-1, midway through the third period.
The Blue Jackets made a routine dump that Jarry duly stopped behind the net, after which he flung the puck not to an open space but right into both Matt Grzelcyk and Dmitri Voronkov, only to have it carom right back and, within seconds, get deposited easily by Voronkov. And just like that it's 3-2, and the 16,060 on hand who'd been all revved up by Rakell fell familiarly silent.
The main guy behind the bench didn't seem wild about it, either.
“We had complete control of the game," Mike Sullivan would say of that sequence. "We don’t execute on a goalie exchange on our breakout and the puck ends up in the back of our net. I feel like there wasn’t a lot going on there. To a certain extent, it felt like we self inflicted a little bit there. Now it’s a one-goal game."
There wasn't a lot going on at all. Other than the Penguins playing well. And Jarry being in net.
Guess which one would outweigh the other:
The penalty-killing stunk, 0 for 2 in this one. Again, separate column.
But while Elvis Merzlikins was doing this at the opposite end ...
... Jarry had his heels all the way back on the goal line and gave himself little chance to stop Fantilli or anyone who'd have had the puck between the hashes.
An uneventful overtime came and went, and it was on to the shootout.
Here's why that'd matter more than most:
NHL
Uh-huh. By January standards, this was big. Which, as ever, is when Jarry's at his smallest:
For the record, that was three shots and zero saves, counting Fantilli clanging the left post between those shooters. And both goals, by the way, went five-hole. Along the ice. Paddle up.
“It’s hard to win when you give up two out of three," Sullivan would say of Jarry in the shootout. "We’d like him to be better there."
As in actually making contact with a puck?
Look, I don't intend to be mean. And if I come across as exasperated on this subject, it's only because ... man, how much longer can we talk about this?
Better yet, how much longer can Sullivan and, not to be forgotten, Kyle Dubas watch this?
Jarry's not it. He's never been it. He'll turn 30 in April and, judging by how he's handled previous Aprils, he won't be it then, either.
So what's the hope here, exactly? Some mystical breakthrough?
To be fair, Alex NedeljkoviÄ, as he'd be the first to attest, hasn't been any better. His own statistics -- 3.22 goals-against average, .888 save percentage -- are in line with Jarry's. But to further be fair, NedeljkoviÄ wasn't signed to start. He wasn't about to be the one to push the Penguins into the playoffs. That's why Dubas signed him this past summer to a two-year contract at annual value of $2.5 million. That's backup money. He'd be No. 2 no matter what.
The glaringly obvious solution would be to trade Jarry, presuming there'd be a GM dumb enough to a meaningful percentage of the five-year, $26.875 million contract Dubas handed him two summers ago. But I can't conceive of such a thing.
OK, then, why not waive Jarry, pray to the hockey gods for 24 full hours for that hypothetical GM dummy to take him, then send him right back to Wilkes-Barre?
From there, bring Joel Blomqvist back. He hasn't killed it in the AHL -- 3.11 goals-against average, .910 save percentage -- but he's still had the best performances of anyone in a Pittsburgh sweater, and he'll have the poise to handle anything.
Or, that failing, bring up Filip Larsson. He's a 26-year-old recently returned from Sweden who's been awesome in the AHL -- 2.23 goals-against average, .932 save percentage, league-leading four shutouts -- through 11 starts. He'd hardly pioneer being a goaltender to bloom in his mid-20s.
But don't pretend the answer's here. That's not fair to anyone involved, least of all the current players, who, while far from perfect, have made real strides over the past six weeks.
What matters more, attempting to salvage Jarry and/or his contract toward a trade, or making the playoffs while Sidney Crosby's still a point-a-game star?
This was Dubas in early October: “What we’re going to try to accomplish this season and what our goal is, is to be playing very meaningful hockey in March, April and beyond.”
That won't happen with Jarry. He knows it. And he's wasting everyone's time and energy.
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