PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tristan Jarry's career was at a crossroads in mid-January. The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender was struggling and even worse, the franchise's faith in him appeared to be shot.
Things grew so bleak for Jarry at the end of a stretch in which he dropped six straight starts that general manager Kyle Dubas — the same man who'd signed Jarry to a five-year deal shortly after taking over in the summer of 2023 — made the unusual decision to send Jarry to the minors.
Not just to get some reps in, but seemingly for good.
Players with two All-Star appearances and millions in the bank typically don't make their way back after a fall like that. At least not with the same team.
Yet there Jarry was on Tuesday night standing inside PPG Paints Arena, turning aside 36 shots in a 3-2 overtime victory over Vegas that offered hope that while Pittsburgh's season is all but lost, Jarry's tenure with the only NHL club he's ever known might not be.
Yes, those six-plus weeks in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton riding the bus to Bridgeport and Lehigh Valley were “tough” as he put it. They may also have been necessary.
“It was something I had to work through,” Jarry said. “Something I need to look at myself in the mirror and just say ‘I need to have a better game.’”
The Penguins called Jarry back up quietly earlier this month when 23-year-old Joel Blomqvist — potentially the club's goalie of the future — had struggles of his own during a somewhat extended NHL look.
Jarry returned to the lineup on Sunday in a road victory over likely playoff-bound Minnesota. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan called Jarry “spectacular” while outdueling future Hall of Famer and former Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury.
Sullivan saw enough to give Jarry the nod again against Pacific Division-leading Vegas, a potentially fraught assignment for a player who hasn't looked comfortable playing at home this season.
Yet the jitters — particularly the early-game ones that have popped up frequently during a season in which he has allowed a first-shot goal six times — never materialized. Jarry turned aside the first puck the Golden Knights threw his way and quickly settled into the game.
Vegas, which is charging toward the postseason, dominated for long stretches. Jarry responded by showcasing the athleticism that's always been there and the confidence, which admittedly hasn't.
He was at his best in the third period. During one sequence Jarry turned aside a breakaway and a wraparound attempt within seconds of each other to protect a one-goal lead. When the whistle blew, the crowd that reveled in booing him in mid-winter was cheering his name instead.
Though Vegas tied it late on a slap shot by Noah Hanifin, Pittsburgh prevailed in overtime to secure two points in a season in which they've been hard to come by. Jarry's uneven play is one of the major reasons the Penguins will likely miss the playoffs for a third straight year.
Yet if he can find something over the next month, he could perhaps make his contract that features an average cap hit of $5 million palatable for another team to take on. Or maybe a goaltender who has been part of the problem during Pittsburgh's swoon could end up being part of the solution.
“He's got a long body of work in Pittsburgh that suggests strongly that he’s an NHL goaltender,” Sullivan said of Jarry. "We’ve said that on many occasions ... He’s made the All-Star team twice, I don’t think that’s coincidence. There’s substance there.”
Jarry needs to pair that substance with consistency and maybe a dash of toughness too. He's been around long enough — Jarry made his NHL debut nearly eight years ago — to know two solid games doesn't mean he's “back.” Every meaningful stat, from goals against average (3.15) to save percentage (.893), ranks as the worst of his career.
There's more work to be done. Probably a lot more. Yet he finds himself in a better place than he was in mid-January. He believes being sent down freed him in a way. He had nothing left to lose, so Jarry headed to the AHL with a “free mind" that has helped pave the way for a comeback that seemed remote not long ago.
“I think just over my time that I’ve been playing in the NHL, I’ve played a lot of good hockey,” he said. “And I want to continue that.”
Given Pittsburgh's spot in the standings and the need to get a feel once and for all whether he can reclaim the team's No. 1 goaltending spot, Jarry probably won't lack for opportunities down the stretch. What he does with them will say plenty about his future.
“For whatever reason it didn’t go the way any of us hoped (early in the season),” Sullivan said. "I think he’s just showing what he’s capable of, quite honestly.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Will Graves, The Associated Press
