In the wake of the Penguins’ surprisingly strong start, there’s been one area that’s been an underlying concern for me. I mentioned as much to Other Rick yesterday at Wright’s Gym as we talked about the team.
Goaltending. Or more to the point…Tristan Jarry.
Although the 26-year-old netminder posted solid numbers over his first two starts (2.00 goals against average, .917 save percentage) he wasn’t really tested that much. And at the end of our season-opening victory over Tampa Bay when he yielded two goals in under three minutes, I saw the briefest flicker of an Islanders-style meltdown flash before my eyes.
Well, I’m happy to report my anxieties about Jarry were allayed to a great extent last night. Yes, we lost to Dallas, 2-1, in part because Tristan was victimized in the shootout on exceptional moves by Stars snipers Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov. But prior to that he stood tall.
How tall? Jarry stopped all 10 high-danger chances he faced and 11 of 12 medium danger chances. His only flinch came with 10 seconds remaining in the first period, when he appeared to be turned inside-out on a shot by Michael Raffl. The Stars’ only regulation goal.
Jarry more than made up for it with a bevy of 10-bell saves. None bigger than a flurry of saves on Roope Hintz, Joel Kiviranta and Pavelski during a 4-on-4 midway through the contest, or game-saving stops on Radulov and Esa Lindell in an overtime controlled by the Stars.
Tristan’s sparkling performance earned him the game’s No. 3 star…and perhaps a huge boost of confidence.
Puckpourri
The Pens’ lone goal came at 5:26 of the second period. Capping a sequence of extended offensive zone time, Marcus Pettersson feathered a pretty cross-ice pass into Brock McGinn’s wheelhouse at the top of the right circle. McGinn blasted a shot on goal that popped off Braden Holtby’s stick and directly onto John Marino’s blade. The young defender made no mistake, whipping the puck top-shelf past Holtby.
Although the black and gold enjoyed a decided advantage in territorial play (57.65 Corsi), the Stars played a strong defensive game and held a slight edge in most statistical categories, including shots on goal (29-28), faceoffs (58 percent), hits (38-32) and blocked shots (16-8).
The Pens were guilty at times of passing up shot opportunities in search of the perfect play. An old bugaboo.
In his first three games, Jarry’s posted some sterling numbers…a 1.62 goals against average, .935 save percentage and a quality starts percentage of 1.000. Quite a contrast to his porous start of 2020-21.
McGinn’s assist gave him four points on the season, tied for the team lead with Jeff Carter, Marino and Kris Letang. His eight hits rank fourth on the club.
Suiting up for his first game following a nagging lower-body injury, Mike Matheson registered three shots on goal, three hits and three takeaways in 18:10 of ice time. He replaced Mark Friedman.
Our 14-year sellout streak came to an end…sadly on Mike Lange Night. Paid attendance was reported to be 16,440.
We’re presently in first place in the Metro with a record of 2-0-2 and six points, one point ahead of second-place Washington (2-0-1).
Next up…Auston Matthews and Toronto on Saturday night at the Paint Can. Perhaps we’ll even have a Sidney Crosby sighting…
