Tristan Jarry just might be playing the finest hockey of his life.
No, he isn't perfect. And yeah, he's had other stretches of his NHL career -- longer than this, for that matter -- where he's ranged from solid to strong. But in this latest performance, stopping 27 of 30 shots through overtime, then 2 of 3 in the shootout of the Penguins' 4-3 loss to the Panthers tonight here at Amerant Bank Arena, he showed me a little something more.
Watch this:
This is midway through the third period. One-goal lead. Vital time.
The player making the pass is Sam Reinhart, who'd already scored twice, who leads Florida with 35 goals, who had 57 of them a year ago, whose Game 7 winner against Edmonton had him raising the Stanley Cup that night ... so it would've been reasonable to expect he'd shoot.
Now look across to the right and see the legitimately great Aleksander Barkov presenting his blade for the cross-crease pass that could've come.
Now look again at Jarry.
The press box is perched right above that goal line, so I could see, as soon as the puck was sent low to Reinhart, Jarry had the entire scene sized up. He'd read what Reinhart hoped to do and, once the puck moved, so did he, fully square to Gustav Forsling. Giving up nothing. Getting a shot right into the golden triangle on his chest.
That's reading the play. That's putting himself in the best possible position beforehand. And that, I'm quite comfortable saying, had gone completely missing from Jarry's game before his twin exiles to the AHL this season.
His own assessment of his evening: "Not bad," after which he laid out some stuff he felt he could've done better.
Other assessments told the real story.
"Jarrs made some big saves on some really good opportunities," Bryan Rust said. "I think that's big. That just kinda boosts confidence throughout the bench."
"He was outstanding," Rickard Rakell said. "Again."
"I thought he was good," Mike Sullivan said. "He made a couple big saves for us and battled all night long."
Then there's the math: Jarry's now 4-1-1 since reclaiming the net March 9 in St. Paul, Minn., he's yet to give up more than three goals in any of those six starts, and he's got a .923 save percentage that'd rank him a solitary point behind league leader Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg if not for ... well, yeah, all that.
THE ASYLUM
Drive to the Net: The Jarry vibe
Tristan Jarry just might be playing the finest hockey of his life.
No, he isn't perfect. And yeah, he's had other stretches of his NHL career -- longer than this, for that matter -- where he's ranged from solid to strong. But in this latest performance, stopping 27 of 30 shots through overtime, then 2 of 3 in the shootout of the Penguins' 4-3 loss to the Panthers tonight here at Amerant Bank Arena, he showed me a little something more.
Watch this:
This is midway through the third period. One-goal lead. Vital time.
The player making the pass is Sam Reinhart, who'd already scored twice, who leads Florida with 35 goals, who had 57 of them a year ago, whose Game 7 winner against Edmonton had him raising the Stanley Cup that night ... so it would've been reasonable to expect he'd shoot.
Now look across to the right and see the legitimately great Aleksander Barkov presenting his blade for the cross-crease pass that could've come.
Now look again at Jarry.
The press box is perched right above that goal line, so I could see, as soon as the puck was sent low to Reinhart, Jarry had the entire scene sized up. He'd read what Reinhart hoped to do and, once the puck moved, so did he, fully square to Gustav Forsling. Giving up nothing. Getting a shot right into the golden triangle on his chest.
That's reading the play. That's putting himself in the best possible position beforehand. And that, I'm quite comfortable saying, had gone completely missing from Jarry's game before his twin exiles to the AHL this season.
His own assessment of his evening: "Not bad," after which he laid out some stuff he felt he could've done better.
Other assessments told the real story.
"Jarrs made some big saves on some really good opportunities," Bryan Rust said. "I think that's big. That just kinda boosts confidence throughout the bench."
"He was outstanding," Rickard Rakell said. "Again."
"I thought he was good," Mike Sullivan said. "He made a couple big saves for us and battled all night long."
Then there's the math: Jarry's now 4-1-1 since reclaiming the net March 9 in St. Paul, Minn., he's yet to give up more than three goals in any of those six starts, and he's got a .923 save percentage that'd rank him a solitary point behind league leader Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg if not for ... well, yeah, all that.
I'm saying no more.
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