Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry works out before morning skate
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry skated with goaltending coach Andy Chiodo prior to Saturday’s optional morning skate at PPG Paints Arena.
It is believed to be the first time Jarry has skated in full gear since he suffered a right foot injury that has kept him sidelined since April 14. Jarry briefly skated in track pants Thursday morning at Madison Square Garden prior to his team’s 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
“It’s significant that he’s on the ice,” Sullivan said. “It always is when a player takes that jump in the (rehabilitation) process. I’m not going to speculate on where he goes moving from here. But we’re certainly real encouraged with this day that he got on the ice.”
In 58 games this regular season, Jarry, who was selected as an All-Star, had a 34-18-6 record, a 2.42 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and four shutouts.
Jason Zucker returns
Penguins forward Jason Zucker returned to the lineup for Game 3. He had missed the first two games of the series as well as the regular season finale due to an undisclosed injury.
Zucker opened Game 3 on the left wing of the second line with Jeff Carter at center and Brock McGinn on right wing.
Various injuries, most notably a core muscle injury that required surgery in late January, limited Zucker to 41 games and 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) during the regular season.
Zucker’s return figures to provide a boost for a team that has lacked secondary scoring through the first two games of the series. At least that’s what his history would suggest.
Over the Penguins’ previous two postseasons – 2019 and 2020 – Zucker had five points (four goals, one goal) in 10 games. Only forwards Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and Kris Letang (six each) scored more than Zucker over that span.
“Playoff hockey, there’s another level of intensity to it,” Sullivan said. “There’s a certain level of physicality associated with playoff hockey that’s different. It’s a high-stakes environment. Some of it is tangible stuff. Like guys that are more physical that thrive in that type of environment tend to excel. There are intangibles and that is the ability to perform well when the stakes are high. Jason has shown an ability to do that. He plays a north-south game, he’s good in the battle areas, he’s got some edge to his game and I think he embraces the playoff atmosphere. He embraces the physicality that is associated with playoff hockey. That’s one of the reasons why he has played as well as he has in the playoffs.”
Friedman, O’Connor impress in debuts
Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Drew O’Connor each made their NHL postseason debuts during Game 2 on Thursday.
Primarily deployed on the third pairing, Friedman logged 11:55 of ice time on 12 shifts (including 1:47 on the penalty kill) and recorded three shots on three attempts.
O’Connor, a rookie, was mainly relegated to the fourth line. Clocking 6:33 on 11 shifts, he registered two shot attempts and one blocked shot.
Sullivan gave a positive review of their debuts.
“They played well,” Sullivan said. “They brought what we expect them to bring. They’re both mobile guys. They can skate. Drew got in on the forecheck. I thought he was good along the wall. He hits the crossbar on that one play off the rush. He’s got a real deceptive shot.
“(Friedman) is a guy that competes hard. He’s a real competitive guy. I thought he competed real well. He’s a mobile skater so he gets back to pucks. He helped us on the breakout. He joined the rush that one time and ended up with a real good chance at the offensive end, just activating from the net front.”
Notes:
• Injured Penguins forward Rickard Rakell (head) and defenseman Brian Dumoulin (undisclosed) were each sidelined for the second consecutive game.
Both players suffered injuries during Game 1 of the series Tuesday and have been labeled as “day to day” by Sullivan.
• The Penguins’ optional morning skate involved eight players, including forwards Jeff Carter, Evgeni Malkin and Drew O’Connor; defensemen Nathan Beaulieu, Mark Friedman, Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson; and goaltender Alex D’Orio.
• Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren was scratched for the second consecutive game for an undisclosed injury. Typically deployed on the Rangers’ top pairing, Lindgren has not played since suffering an undisclosed injury in Game 1.
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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