It remains to be seen if Tristan Jarry will still be the Pittsburgh Penguins’ No. 1 goalie when next season begins.
Or if upper management has maintained confidence in him after a playoff showing that rated somewhere on the spectrum between slightly-below-average and downright poor.
But judging by what some of his teammates said Friday, Jarry hasn’t lost the locker room.
“At the end of the day, I truly believe he’s a No. 1 goalie who got the job done for us all year round,” veteran defenseman Kris Letang said over a video conference call with media. “It’s been two years in a row he’s been among the best at his position.”
Goals Saved Above Average in playoffs (@NatStatTrick all-encompassing goalie metric):
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 28, 2021
1. ILYA SOROKIN, 4.13
2. Connor Hellebuyck, 3.43
..
..
20. Alex Nedeljkovic, minus-2.03
21 (last). TRISTAN JARRY, minus-6.46
If you're overthinking PIT/NYI series, it aint that hard to explain
Jarry played in the 2019-20 NHL All-Star game as he began to wrestle the starting job away from Matt Murray during that season. He took over the starting gig upon the trade of Murray to the Ottawa Senators last summer.
Jarry put up a 2.60 goals-against average and .915 save percentage combined over the past two regular seasons. Over his final 30 regular-season games this year, Jarry was at his best: 22-4-2 record, .919 save percentage, 2.45 GAA, two shutouts.
But Jarry’s postseason showing was less inspiring: 3.18 GAA, .888 save percentage. He was pegged as a primary reason the Penguins lost Games 1, 5 and 6. His double-overtime gaffe in Game 5 was particularly panned.
“That doesn’t affect confidence that I have in him. No chance,” defenseman Mike Matheson said. “I think he’s one of the best goalies in the league. I know that there’s been lot of attention and lot of blame on him through this series, but I think that’s unfair. It’s a team game, and through each game we made a lot of mistakes throughout the lineup, and to be able to think that you can narrow it down to one person or one position — whatever the case may be — is unfair.”
Tim Benz: Hextall and Burke have to be honest with themselves. We have to be honest with ourselves. With or without Tristan Jarry, this is who the #Penguins are now.https://t.co/RP2y6vb0aP
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) May 28, 2021
Among goalies with more than two starts this postseason, Jarry has the worst save percentage and second-worst GAA. The advanced metrics compiled at naturalstattrick.com rate him as third-worst in “high-danger” save percentage (.796). At five-on-five, Jarry has — by far — the worst GSAA “goals saved above average” among all goalies in the playoffs. His minus-6.46 is more than three times that of the second-worst, Alex Nedeljkovic of the Carolina Hurricanes (minus-2.03).
With the obvious caveat that the code of professional sports — to say nothing of basic human courtesy — dictates that a player should have a teammate’s back, those who play in front of Jarry have his back.
“For us, Tristan is an unbelievable goalie and an unbelievable guy,” forward Bryan Rust said. “Everyone’s got confidence in him. He’s been great for us for a while …
“He’s an awesome goalie and awesome guy.”
