Jarry Sharp Again, Penguins Slice Sabres, 4-0

Patience.

The Bible claims it as a virtue. Described by various sources as the ability to endure difficult circumstances.

Well our Penguins have shown great patience and forbearance in the face of their ugly 3-6 start. Patience with the process. And patience with goalie Tristan Jarry, who was the very definition of erratic over his first handful of starts.

At the risk of revealing my nerdy side, to borrow from an old Osmond Brothers tune, just like a yo-yo.

A fortnight ago, in the wake of an ugly, closing-second loss to Anaheim, Jarry took the heat.

“It’s tough, obviously, when you’re losing games,” he said “That’s the hardest part. You never want to lose; you play the game to win. I don’t think I’ve been giving the guys enough (of a) chance to win every night.

“Obviously, I need to be better, and I think that’s the bottom line.”

He’s been good to his word ever since.

Last night the two-time All-Star game selection was razor sharp, turning aside 35 shots with relative ease to backstop the Pens to a methodical 4-0 dismantling of the Sabres. Our fourth win in a row for those keeping track.

Buoyed by Jarry’s airtight puckstopping, the Pens took the lead with 59 seconds remaining in the first period, thanks to a bit of wizardry by Evgeni Malkin. Following up a Ryan Graves blast from center point that sailed over the Sabres’ net, Geno flung a backhander from the end boards that bonked off the back of goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and in.

Shades of Mario Lemieux.

We upped our lead to 2-zip at 16:34 of the second period when Drew O’Connor cruised into the Sabres’ end unfettered and lashed a wrister past Luukkonen from the top of the right circle.

Any hopes the visitors had for a comeback were dashed in the opening minute of the final frame. Working on a carry-over power play with Rasmus Dahlin in the box, Erik Karlsson fired a shot-pass from center point in the direction of Sidney Crosby camped next to the net. The puck never reached its intended receiver, instead deflecting off the stick blade of Sabres defender Erik Johnson and past Luukkonen.

Although teeming with high-end scorers like Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner, the Sabres never got untracked thanks to Jarry, with a little help from the iron. Karlsson applied the death blow with a slam-dunk empty-netter from the slot at 18:11 to secure a tidy win for our boys and an all-important two points.

Puckpourri

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Pens had the edge in shot attempts (71-62), shots on goal (40-35) and scoring chances (33-27). High-danger chances were dead-even at 11-apiece.

It marked the first time this season our guys won while attempting over 70 shots in a game. Prior to the contest we were 0-6.

What can you say about Jarry’s performance of late? He hasn’t allowed a goal since 9:20 of the third period back on November 4 in San Jose, a span of 108:55. Tristan leads the league with three shutouts and has a hand in a fourth.

Talk about being in a groove!

Don’t overlook the contributions of coach Mike Sullivan and his staff. More and more, Sully’s been employing a 1-2-2 rather than his favored aggressive forecheck, which provides an extra layer of defense while helping his charges to play with more structure. It’s working like a charm and helping the team play to its strengths.

While I’m on the subject, my biggest bone to pick with Sullivan was his unwillingness to adjust his system to fit the talent on hand. I give him tons of credit for adapting. Not every coach does or can, especially after they’ve tasted success doing it their way.

With a goal and an assist, Malkin leads the black-and-gold with eight goals. Geno’s tied with Jake Guentzel (5+11) for the club lead in points with 16. Crosby ran his points streak to eight games. Karlsson has points in five straight.

My goodness, is EK65 a player. Talk about quicksilver. What an acquisition by Kyle Dubas.

Is it just my imagination, or is Kris Letang playing gritty, solid defense? Can’t say enough about the way he’s responded to a shifting role.

Great to see O’Connor get off the schneid. Now if we can just get a goal for Rakell. His slump sure isn’t for a lack of effort or hard work. He had two shots on goal last night and during at least a couple of sequences did everything but score. Wish we would’ve put him out there with the Sabres’ net empty.

I’d like to give RikRak a period or two with Sid just to see if that would shake him loose, but I understand Sully’s reluctance to make such a move. The top line’s been fire and Bryan Rust’s been electric.

Vinnie Hinostroza returned to the lineup in place of Jeff Carter following a one-game absence and nearly scored when he split the Sabres’ defense earlier in the first period. I like the look of our fourth line with Hino in there.

Joel Blomqvist was returned to the Baby Pens.

On Deck

The Pens (7-6) travel to Columbus to take on the CBJ (4-7-3) Tuesday night. Speaking of slumps, Johnny (Hockey) Gaudreau has one goal in 14 games.