Tristan Jarry called the start to Saturday night’s game in San Jose a “goalie’s dream.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
For two periods, Jarry and his former tandem partner, Alex Nedeljkovic, traded saves in a fast, loose game that each goaltender managed to keep tight on the scoresheet. Through two periods, only puck to beat either of them came when Sidney Crosby got his stick on a shot for a deft deflection past Nedeljkovic.
In what amounted to a goaltending battle, it was Jarry that came out on top. He stopped all 31 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season and carry the Penguins to a 3-0 win over the Sharks.
The Penguins didn't make things easy on Jarry -- 10 of those saves were high-danger shots. And perhaps none of them were bigger than the shot in the second period from the rookie Michael Misa, the Sharks' second-overall pick this past summer who is still searching for his first NHL goal.
Misa dove through the slot and threw a backhand shot on net that Jarry was able to keep out by kicking out his foot and getting a piece of it:
"He threw it to the middle and was able to get a quick shot off," Jarry recalled of that play after. "I was just luckily able to get with my toe. He's a very decisive player, and he got the shot off really quick."
That's what you see from Jarry when he's on top of his game. He had a number of big saves throughout the game, and there was almost a feeling from the beginning that it was about to be one of those games from Jarry. He never once looked shaky, he was strong from the beginning,
"I think the last couple of games I've just been working on getting a good start," he said. "I think that was one of the things that I wanted to improve from last year, was improving my starts, improving my starts for the team. And I think this year, Arty (Silovs) and I have done a good job of that."
Jarry said that doing that is largely just a matter of coming into the game with the right mentality -- "Going out there with confidence, standing tall and being able to know that you're going to make those first saves."
Jarry was tested with some early quick shots to help him do that, with four in under five minutes to start.
"You know, he had to make some big saves early," Dan Muse said. "And you know what to expect coming into this building. They're really dangerous in transition."
Anthony Mantha added to the lead in the third period off a two-on-one with Justin Brazeau, making it a 2-0 game. And in what was perhaps the biggest indication of where Jarry's confidence is at right now, when the Sharks pulled Nedeljkovic for the extra attacker ... Jarry took a crack at the empty net himself:
It would have been too fitting if that worked out, in a game between some of the highest-scoring goaltenders in professional hockey history -- Jarry with two goals (one NHL, one AHL) and Nedeljkovic with four (one ECHL, two AHL, one NHL).
"The puck kind of came in and I took my shot," Jarry said with a bit of a laugh. "It wasn't very good, but I tried."
This latest attempt needed a bit more power, and it wasn't quite on target. But that's not something you're going to see Jarry even attempt if his confidence isn't where it needs to be.
Evgeni Malkin later hit the empty net himself, making it a 3-0 game.
The Penguins' goaltending situation is very fluid, with Muse explaining that morning that they're "going to take it game by game," and there's not anything "official" as far as the plans go yet.
Silovs has played well to this point too, with a 2-1 record, a .908 save percentage and a shutout in the season opener. The door is wide-open for either one to push for something more akin to a traditional starter's workload. And after this showing in San Jose, Jarry's earned more time to continue to prove himself.
THE ASYLUM
'Good start' fuels Jarry's 31-save shutout
Tristan Jarry called the start to Saturday night’s game in San Jose a “goalie’s dream.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
For two periods, Jarry and his former tandem partner, Alex Nedeljkovic, traded saves in a fast, loose game that each goaltender managed to keep tight on the scoresheet. Through two periods, only puck to beat either of them came when Sidney Crosby got his stick on a shot for a deft deflection past Nedeljkovic.
In what amounted to a goaltending battle, it was Jarry that came out on top. He stopped all 31 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season and carry the Penguins to a 3-0 win over the Sharks.
The Penguins didn't make things easy on Jarry -- 10 of those saves were high-danger shots. And perhaps none of them were bigger than the shot in the second period from the rookie Michael Misa, the Sharks' second-overall pick this past summer who is still searching for his first NHL goal.
Misa dove through the slot and threw a backhand shot on net that Jarry was able to keep out by kicking out his foot and getting a piece of it:
"He threw it to the middle and was able to get a quick shot off," Jarry recalled of that play after. "I was just luckily able to get with my toe. He's a very decisive player, and he got the shot off really quick."
That's what you see from Jarry when he's on top of his game. He had a number of big saves throughout the game, and there was almost a feeling from the beginning that it was about to be one of those games from Jarry. He never once looked shaky, he was strong from the beginning,
"I think the last couple of games I've just been working on getting a good start," he said. "I think that was one of the things that I wanted to improve from last year, was improving my starts, improving my starts for the team. And I think this year, Arty (Silovs) and I have done a good job of that."
Jarry said that doing that is largely just a matter of coming into the game with the right mentality -- "Going out there with confidence, standing tall and being able to know that you're going to make those first saves."
Jarry was tested with some early quick shots to help him do that, with four in under five minutes to start.
"You know, he had to make some big saves early," Dan Muse said. "And you know what to expect coming into this building. They're really dangerous in transition."
Anthony Mantha added to the lead in the third period off a two-on-one with Justin Brazeau, making it a 2-0 game. And in what was perhaps the biggest indication of where Jarry's confidence is at right now, when the Sharks pulled Nedeljkovic for the extra attacker ... Jarry took a crack at the empty net himself:
It would have been too fitting if that worked out, in a game between some of the highest-scoring goaltenders in professional hockey history -- Jarry with two goals (one NHL, one AHL) and Nedeljkovic with four (one ECHL, two AHL, one NHL).
"The puck kind of came in and I took my shot," Jarry said with a bit of a laugh. "It wasn't very good, but I tried."
This latest attempt needed a bit more power, and it wasn't quite on target. But that's not something you're going to see Jarry even attempt if his confidence isn't where it needs to be.
Evgeni Malkin later hit the empty net himself, making it a 3-0 game.
The Penguins' goaltending situation is very fluid, with Muse explaining that morning that they're "going to take it game by game," and there's not anything "official" as far as the plans go yet.
Silovs has played well to this point too, with a 2-1 record, a .908 save percentage and a shutout in the season opener. The door is wide-open for either one to push for something more akin to a traditional starter's workload. And after this showing in San Jose, Jarry's earned more time to continue to prove himself.
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