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Penguins to start Tristan Jarry against Coyotes

Seth Rorabaugh
| Friday, December 6, 2019 5:53 p.m.
Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry made 28 saves in a 3-0 win against the St. Louis Blues at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday.

The Penguins will start goaltender Tristan Jarry for Friday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes and forward Phil Kessel at PPG Paints Arena according to coach Mike Sullivan.

Jarry has appeared in 10 games this season with a 6-4-0 record, a 2.02 goals against average, a .936 save percentage and one shutout. He made 28 saves in a 3-0 home win against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

With a road game against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, presumably Matt Murray will start that contest. Murray has struggled as of late. In his past six games, Murray has a 0-3-2 record along with a 3.99 goals against average and an .852 save percentage.

Notes:

• Coach Mike Sullivan said forward Bryan Rust and defenseman Justin Schultz will play. Rust has missed the past three games due to an undisclosed injury while Schultz has missed the past seven games due to a suspected groin ailment.

• Sullivan described defenseman Jack Johnson as “fine.” Johnson missed Wednesday’s game as well as Thursday’s practice while recovering from an illness.

• Rookie defenseman John Marino, a right-handed shot, primarily played on Wednesday’s game in a top pairing with all-star Kris Letang, another righty, and sporadically moved to the left side throughout the contest.

“(Letang) played it more than John did but they’re both somewhat interchangeable, both being right-handed shots,” Sullivan said. “Both of those guys are mobile guys. They’ve got pretty good puck skills. They’re probably two of the more capable guys that we have laying the off side. For a group that, really, we don’t have anybody that’s overly comfortable playing the offside. Jusso (Riikola) has played it a little bit for us. But obviously, there was an abundance of right-hand shots in the lineup the last game.”

Marino joked he only moved to the left side “whenever ‘Tanger’ told me to.” Much of that dynamic was dictated by the occasions Letang joined the offensive attack.

“If he’s stepping up in the offensive zone, he ends up on the right side,” Marino said. “I’m not going to stay on the right side. I’ll just take the left. It makes it a lot easier too. You just switch like that and not even have to worry about it.”

“Most players feel a little bit more comfortable on their strong side,” Marino said. There’s pros and cons to both. So you kind of just take what the game gives you.”

Letang’s experience - he is in his 14th NHL season - grants him a bit more freedom direct traffic within the confines of the Penguins’ on-ice schematics.

“We certainly give them some latitude for sure because we want them to take ownership for what’s going on out there,” Sullivan said. “We do give them some latitude when it comes to that kind of stuff. But it’s more about communication than it is anything, especially with those two guys. (Letang) is a veteran guy, he has a lot of experience. He talks to the young players a lot, whether he’s playing or he isn’t. In that particularly instance, we would certainly give (Letang) the ownership to make the call there.”

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