Anyone who’s been following the recent plight of our Penguins knows that goalie Tristan Jarry is persona non grata in these parts. Public Enemy No. 1 and the anti-Christ all rolled into one. The root of all our evils.
In Jarry’s defense?
He has no defense.
Let me explain.
Step into the WABAC machine with me if you will to the start of the 2017-18 season. Following our second of back-to-back Stanley Cups, we experienced significant roster turnover. One of those changes involved paying the fledging Vegas Golden Knights a second-round pick to take franchise goalie Marc-André Fleury off our hands in the expansion draft. (Can you imagine?)
No worries. Phenom Matt Murray was to set to take over as the full-time starter between the pipes.
To serve as backup, then-GM Jim Rutherford signed veteran Antti Niemi. Although the 34-year-old “Finnish Fortress” was on the downside of a solid career, he figured to be a more-than-capable veteran backup.
In his first start in Chicago against his old team, the Blackhawks, Niemi was strafed for four goals on 13 shots before he was mercifully yanked midway through the first period of what became a humiliating 10-1 loss.
Anybody can have a bad game, right?
He fared no better in his second start a week later, yielding five goals in a loss to the Lightning. In his final black-and-gold start, again against the Lightning nine days later, he was touched up for seven goals.
Three days later Niemi was placed on waivers and claimed by the Panthers. His stat line with the Pens? Pure ugly. A whopping 16 goals allowed in three games to go with a .797 save percentage and a 7.49 goals against average.
Niemi had lost it. Couldn’t stop a beach ball, right?
Uh uh. After being claimed on waivers again, this time by Montréal, the veteran netminder totally turned his season around. In 19 games with the Canadiens, he posted a 2.46 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.
How did the former Cup winner go from stinko to superb?
The team in front of him may have had something to do with it.
Ever since the Pens drafted franchise savior Mario Lemieux back in 1984, offense has clearly been our bread-and-butter, almost to a fault. Black-and-gold superstars Lemieux (6), Jaromír Jágr (5), Sidney Crosby (2) and Evgeni Malkin (2) combined for an unprecedented 16 Art Ross Trophys over a 26-season span!
On the flip side, defense has largely been an afterthought. In fact, you might even say lousy defensive play is in our DNA. This has especially held true during latter stages of the Mike Sullivan era. Presently, we rank a dismal 30th out of 32 teams in most goals allowed.
While Jarry’s poor showing out of the gate is certainly a huge contributing factor, it isn’t the only one.
Erik Karlsson is a total (mis)adventure in his own end. Simply brutal. To the extent that he’s turning the normally reliable Marcus Pettersson into a liability as well. Kris Letang’s defensive metrics have continued to slide as he’s aged while placing a burden on anyone he’s paired with.
His current partner, newcomer Matt Grzelcyk, and rookie Jack St. Ivany have struggled as well. Numbers-wise, Ryan Graves is the only d-man keeping his head above water.
One out of six ain’t good.
How much of this is on the individual players and how much is on Mike Sullivan and his system is anyone’s guess.
In the meantime, Jarry continues to shoulder most of the blame.
I’m not absolving him of responsibility for his play. Erratic and enigmatic even in the best of times, he’s been trending downward following a decent first half last season and seems to be getting progressively worse with each start.
Indeed, he appears to be morphing into Jack Campbell, a competent netminder whose game fell apart after signing a Jarry-esque deal with the Oilers.
Still, tending goal in the thinly veiled shooting gallery that masquerades as our d-zone would be enough to give even the most rock-solid of goalies nightmares, let alone one who’s struggling as Jarry most assuredly is. He probably sees breakaways and odd-man breaks coming at him in his sleep.
Heck, even if you’re on top of your game it’s hardly a cushy assignment. Rookie Joel Blomqvist has been nothing short of brilliant, literally standing on his head at times to keep pucks out. Yet as well as he’s played, his numbers are fairly ordinary…a 3.16 goals against average and .908 save percentage.
I pin that on our “system” and the guys in front of him.
To an extent, that goes for Jarry as well.
It may be too late for Tristan, at least in the ‘Burgh. We can only hope promising youngsters Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov aren’t sacrificed on the altar of shoddy team defense as well.
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Rick,
I am not buying any excuses for Jarry. It wasn't his defense that coughed up the puck behind his own net, leading to the first GA in his last outing. Although Karlsson let his pocket get picked, It was Jarry that ceded the 2 GA to the far-side from a bad angled shot off the stick of a LHW cruising his natural W - a very difficult accomplishment if a Goalie has even the slightest clue how to play his angles.
You may try to obfuscate the truth by saying it is a chicken or egg debate but I insist that at least half the reason for everyone players poor +/- is due to pathetic Goaltending. (Yes, the other half is due to Sullivan's strategies and schemes which are inverted at the kindest).
I personally wouldn't go into a season with the defenseman and half the forwards Dubas and Sullivan are content with trotting out, but it is one veteran Goalie and the game plans that are sinking this team. Jarry, Sullivan, and Dubas need to go in that order.