Empty Thoughts: Penguins 2, Coyotes 0

Observations from the Penguins’ 2-0 win against the Coyotes.

Tristan Jarry was at it again. He stopped all 33 of the shots he faced on Friday and came away with his second shutout in as many games.

He just looks locked in right now. He’s in total command of his crease eating up rebounds and not overplaying the rebounds he is allowing. When he moves through the blue paint, he’s not springing himself out of the play as he would in the past.

In 2019, Tristan Jarry looks very much like the goaltender the Penguins hoped for when they drafted him in 2013.

But focusing on the immediate concerns of the team, his success has, not coincidentally, come with greater resiliency from the penalty kill.

On Friday, the Penguins stopped all five of the Coyotes’ power-play opportunities. And in Wednesday’s 3-0 home win against the St. Louis Blues, they denied all four opposing power-play chances.

That comes in great contrast to their previous six games in which they allowed an opposing power-play goal. Over that span, the penalty kill was a paltry 14 for 22 (63.6 percent).

It’s curious that it has improved over the past two games, especially given the absence of injured defensive stalwart Brian Dumoulin.

It’s not really a Tristan Jarry-vs.-Matt Murray thing either. Jarry was in net for four of those six games in which the penalty kill struggled.

Coach Mike Sullivan explained why he thinks the penalty kill has stiffened up as of late but is still concerned over how often it needs to be deployed.

“We’ve got better in certain areas,” Sullivan said. ” Tonight, we gave up some chances. Tristan was definitely our best penalty killer tonight. But I do think our penalty kill has improved in some of the areas that we’re trying to clean up.

“I still think we’re taking too many penalties. We’re just simply taking too many penalties and we can’t do that night in and night out. The ones in the offensive zone are tough to swallow. We’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to be responsible with our sticks. We’ve got to stay on the right side of the puck. We’ve got to check with our legs and not our sticks. We can’t reach, we can’t hook, we can’t hold. We’ve got to make sure we use our legs and get on the right side of (opponents). I do think that has a lot to do with it. When we’re asking our (penalty) killers to kill four or five a game, that’s a tall task for any penalty killing unit. So we’ve got to be more disciplined in that regard.”

What happened

After scoreless first and second period, the Penguins claimed the first lead at 7:13 of the third period. Off a faceoff win in Arizona’s left circle by Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin against Coyotes forward Derek Stepan, Penguins forward Jake Guentzel snapped off a wrister. The shot was blocked by Coyotes forward Christan Fischer and the rebound deflected to the end boards to the left of the crease, then glanced gently off the skate of Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta. Malkin darted off the left dot towards the puck and jabbed it under Raanta’s right leg. Guentzel had the lone assist.

(Video courtesy of NHL.)

At 12:22, the Coyotes had a glorious chance to tie the game. Working on a power play, Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson chopped a one-timer from center point that Jarry kicked out to the right of the crease. Coyotes forward Clayton Keller was sitting there and lifted the rebound on a wide-open net. Jarry’s reflexes sprung him to his left, and his left skate kicked the puck into the netting behind his crease.

(Video courtesy of NHL.)

The Penguins secured the victory at 19:58 of the third when forward Brandon Tanev collected an empty net goal thanks to a considerably generous pass by forward Teddy Blueger.

(Video courtesy of NHL.)

Statistically speaking

• The Coyotes commanded shots, 33-26.

• Coyotes forward Clayton Keller led the game with five shots.

• Defenseman Kris Letang and Tanev each led the Penguins with three shots.

• Defensemen Jack Johnson and John Marino were the only Penguins skaters who failed to record a shot on net.

• Letang led the game with 25:54 of ice time on 28 shifts.

• Ekman-Larsson led the Coyotes with 25:39 of ice time on 29 shifts.

• The Coyotes dominated faceoffs, 32-19 (63 percent).

• Coyotes forward Derek Stepan was 13 for 18 (72 percent).

• Blueger was 9 for 19 (47 percent).

• Marino as well as Coyotes defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Jordan Oesterle each led the game with three blocked shots.

Historically speaking

• Penguins’ last shutout against the Coyotes was a 4-0 win at PPG Paints Arena on Nov. 10, 2018. Goaltender Casey DeSmith made 39 saves in the victory.

• The last Penguins goaltender to record shutouts in consecutive regular season games was Marc-Andre Fleury. He made 22 saves in a 2-0 road win against the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 4, 2015 and 21 saves in a 4-0 road win against the Calgary Flames on Feb. 6, 2015.

• Murray was the last goaltender to pull off back-to-back shutouts in any game. They just happened to be Games 5 and 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. He made 24 saves against the Nashville Predators in a 6-0 home win on June 8, 2017 then made 27 saves in a 2-0 road win in Game 6.

• Guentzel (185 points) surpassed forward James Neal (184) for 44th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

Randomly speaking

• The Penguins are now 11-3-1 against Western Conference foes this season.

• The Penguins were 0 for 2 on the power play with most of that coming on a five-on-three sequence which lasted 1:49. They have failed to convert on the two five-on-three power-play chances they have been gifted with. This isn’t a new problem either. They were 0 for 7 with such chances last season.

• The Penguins’ best chance to score ont he power play came at 3:50 of the second period. After Letang boomed a one-timer from the left point, Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta made a save then robbed Penguins forward Bryan Rust of a fantastic opportunity on the rebound:

(Video courtesy of NHL.)

• Tanev’s goal was the Penguins’ fifth short-handed score of the season. They are second in the NHL in that statistic.

• Defenseman Justin Schultz returned to the lineup after missing seven games due to a suspected groin injury. He logged 18:43 of ice time on 21 shifts and had one shot on two attempts.

• Rust returned to the lineup after missing three games due to an undisclosed injury. He logged 20:56 of ice time on 25 shifts and had one shot on three attempts. as well as one blocked shot.

• Coyotes forward Phil Kessel was recognized with a roaring and prolonged standing ovation following a video presentation in the first television stoppage in the first period:

• Kessel played his first game against the Penguins since Nov. 26, 2014. As a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was held without a point in a 4-3 road loss.

• Kessel now has a five-game pointless streak against the Penguins.

Publicly speaking

• Does Sullivan need to rethink how he divides the goaltending duties given Jarry’s excellent play?

“For sure. He’s played extremely well. We’re trying to make decisions to win games in the short run but also trying to have the big picture in mind. (Jarry’s) last handful of starts, we feel as though he’s been really good. He’s deserving of some of the starts that we’ve given him and that’s why we chose to go with him (Friday).”

• Jarry described his save on Keller:

“The puck was coming towards me. There was nothing I could really do on the second one but just try to sprawl out and luckily, it hit me in the foot. It’s just reaction.”

• Sullivan was asked what is clicking for Jarry:

“He’s seeing it pretty well. He’s tracking it. He swallows pucks really well. There aren’t a lot of rebounds. It sure makes it a lot easier for the defensemen at the net front that are trying to defend. Sometimes, the hardest play to defend is that rebound. He swallows a lot of pucks and it ends up with a whistle and a faceoffs. It really makes it a lot easier, a lot cleaner in front of that net. He’s playing extremely well right now. I’m sure his confidence is high because usually success breeds confidence.”

• Having served a four-year apprenticeship in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Jarry is fully aware that an NHL gig is hardly guaranteed:

“It’s not something that I’m expecting. I’m just making sure I’m trying to do the best I can in practice. If I’m called upon, I try to be ready for it.”

• Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant with the Penguins for three seasons, offered an interesting assessment of Jarry’s development:

“A lot more quieter in the net. A couple of years, I remember, he was still a good goalie, but side to side, he kind of got of control. He just seems now, when he’s going side to side (now), he’s locked in. He’s there for the second shot. (Some) goalies, they make that first save then they’re out of the net. But he makes the second and the third.”

• Kessel on his return:

“Obviously, it’s strange. I had some good years here and some good memories. The fans gave me a warm welcome. I love the city, I love them. They treated me great here. It was nice. … They were very nice to me tonight. I appreciate that. I loved my time here. I love them. I’ve got nothing but good memories.”

• Sullivan, who regularly butted heads with Kessel during his time in Pittsburgh, was diplomatic when asked if Kessel had extra jump during Friday’s game:

“I don’t see him enough to make an assessment. He’s obviously a really good player. He was noticeable on their power play. That’s one of the strengths of his game as it was when he was here with us. He’s just a real good player.”

• Jarry was asked what’s been better with the penalty kill as of late:

“Just getting in front of pucks. You see how many big blocks we’re getting, and timely blocks. And it helps when we’re getting the puck (cleared) 200 feet. It gives our guys a break and it gets fresh guys on the ice for us.”

• Tocchet lauded Malkin’s tactics on his goal:

“It just came down to (Malkin) just doing a veteran move. He kind of cheated on the draw and got in on us.”

Visually speaking

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights:

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