Goalie Tristan Jarry not perfect, still good enough for Penguins against Kings
On the surface, Tristan Jarry had his worst game by a country mile.
Considering he recorded shutouts in three of his previous four outings for the Pittsburgh Penguins, his play was bound to level off at some point. It did Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.
He allowed four goals. Some were tough goals to deny. Others appeared to be preventable.
But the goals he stopped were of the greatest consequence in what ended up being a wild, back-and-forth 5-4 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings.
Specifically, the three instances he faced down all-star forward Anze Kopitar one-on-one proved to be vital in how this game unfolded.
Jarry denied Kopitar’s forehand shot on a breakaway at 11 minutes, 28 seconds of the third period to maintain a 3-2 lead with a stout save by his left leg. On the sequence leading to that chance, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang slashed Kopitar sufficiently that officials awarded a penalty shot.
On his mulligan, Kopitar glided in on net, waiting for Jarry to open his five hole just a bit. Sensing opportunity, Kopitar tried to tuck a silky smooth backhand through Jarry’s legs, but the young goaltender was able to clamp down on the puck and keep his team in front.
The Kings tied the score and forced overtime before the game went to a shootout.
And there was Kopitar once again. One-on-one with Jarry.
Having already forced forwards Michael Amadio and Tyler Toffoli to shoot wide, Jarry stared down Kopitar for the third time. This time, Kopitar, who entered the contest with 40 career shootout goals, ninth-most in NHL history, went with a wrist shot.
Jarry denied him to complete a goaltender hat trick of sorts and allowed Bryan Rust to clinch the win with a backhander on Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick on the next attempt.
The Kings had a chance to extend the shootout but forward Adrian Kempe lost control of the puck allowing the Penguins to jump off the bench in celebration.
Jarry ascribes to a basic stratagem for any breakaway attempt, regardless of the circumstance.
“Just staying with him,” said Jarry, who improved to 9-5-0, “making sure I’m keeping the puck between my shoulders and trying to do the best to make myself look big and give him nothing to shoot at.”
Early on, the Kings had plenty to shoot at as they raced to a 2-0 lead on goals by forwards Austin Wagner at 13:08 of the first period and Tyler Toffoli at the 18:00 mark.
The Penguins moved Jared McCann to top-line center in the second and that appeared to spark the offense as his linemate, Rust, scored his 11th goal of the season at the 3:31 mark. Rust scored again on a five-on-three power-play sequence at 17:36 of the second.
“The game is fun right now,” said Rust, who has nine points over his past six games. “Just trying to take it in stride, trying to get better every day. Things are going well.”
Forward Teddy Blueger scored his fourth goal at 9:26 of the third to give the Penguins their first lead. After Jarry’s saves on Kopitar, defenseman Jack Johnson scored his second goal of the season during a four-on-four sequence at 11:58.
Undeterred, the Kings managed to force a tie thanks to goals by forward Kyle Clifford at 15:00 and Amodio at 16:23.
Following a one-sided overtime period in which the Penguins outshot the Kings, 6-0, the home team claimed another victory without forward Evgeni Malkin, who missed his second consecutive contest because of an illness.
Jarry finished with 38 saves on 42 shots. It was hardly a perfect game statistically, but his impact, particularly against Kopitar, was clear to anyone who watched.
“He’s playing really well right now,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s seeing the puck. He’s tracking the puck. His rebound control is great. He’s seeing it very well for us right now. They had a fair amount quality chances tonight and he made some big saves for us. That’s what he’s done. Our team is competing hard in front of him. But certainly, when we have broke down, he’s been there to make some huge saves for us.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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