CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Tristan Jarry has clear expectations of himself this season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After sitting behind presumed backup Alex Nedeljkovic in 12 of the final 13 games last season, the 29-year-old goalie wants to be in as often as possible.
“I think just being able to play more games, to win more games, I think that’s always a goal of mine,” Jarry said on Sept. 20.
That hasn’t been the case through the first four games, even with Nedeljkovic recovering from a preseason lower-body injury.
Jarry started two of the first four and will start against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT).
In the season opener, Jarry made 34 saves in 6-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 9. Joel Blomqvist, a 22-year-old prospect, was in for the next two games, making 29 saves in each of his first two NHL starts. Jarry returned with 24 saves in a 6-3 win at the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
To coach Mike Sullivan, there’s no reason to question the rotation.
“We tell Tristan to control what he can,” Sullivan said Sunday. “He’s a good goalie. He’s a quality goalie. I think you guys are overthinking this as you always do. We need two goalies that can help us win. We have a lot of games coming up.
“’Jars’ is going to play. We’re going to use two goalies through this first little while out of necessity just because of the condensed schedule.”
Eight games in the first 14 days could lead to natural load management. Still, Jarry has started three of 17 while healthy going back to last season.
That kind of stretch likely wasn’t anticipated when he succeeded Matt Murray, traded to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 7, 2020, and Marc-Andre Fleury, selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Fleury won the Stanley Cup three times in Pittsburgh (2009, 2016, 2017) and Murray won it twice (2016, 2017).
Now in his ninth season, Jarry signed a five-year, $26.9 million contract ($5.375 million average annual value) to stay with the Penguins on July 1, 2023. He was 19-25-5 in 51 games (48 starts) with a 2.91 goals-against average and .903 save percentage last season, each his worst in an NHL season with more than two starts.
Usually reserved, Jarry said his numbers should be better.
“I want to be at the top of all the leaderboards, goalie-wise and team-wise,” Jarry said. “I think the better we do as a team, the better the individual stats are. So, I think just having a good team, and a good, solid team game, I think that’ll help.
“Then just being the best version of yourself, being the best goalie you can, I think that’ll help our team as well.”
It’s not clear what would happen with Nedeljkovic healthy, though.
Last season, his first with Pittsburgh, Nedeljkovic had a worse GAA (2.97) and save percentage (.902) than Jarry. But he was 18-7-7 including 8-2-1 as the primary starter in a late push to the Stanley Cup Playoffs that fell three points short of the Washington Capitals for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.
“It does you no good to have any ill will toward the other guy and hope he doesn't do well or has a tough night,” said Nedeljkovic, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract to remain with the Penguins on June 20. “Because if he has a tough night, we're probably not having a good night in front of him, we're probably not getting two points. Now, the mood in the room is kind of dull. You never want that.
“You want the best for him, you want him to do well and succeed. For me, as a competitor, it just pushes me to do well and to try to outdo him a little bit but in a competitive way so that we're just pushing each other. I thought we had that good relationship last year. It's picked up right where we've left off."
That’s the attitude toward Blomqvist too.
“He's been awesome,” Jarry said on Oct. 2. “He moves great laterally, he's a great goalie, and we're obviously excited. ... I think Joel's ready, and it'll be exciting.”
Selected by the Penguins in the second round (No. 52) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Blomqvist was third in the American Hockey League with a 2.16 GAA and fifth with a .921 save percentage last season for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He could be the goalie of the future.
Not now, though. It’s still likely Jarry, who entered training camp in the best shape of his career, Sullivan said.
“We all believe in Tristan,” Sullivan said. “He’s a quality NHL goaltender. We think there’s another level to his game. The expectations are high, so we’re going to push him to be at his very best. I think, when you look at how the season ended down the stretch last year, I think Jars would’ve liked to have had the net a little more than he did. I’m sure that’s motivated him in the offseason.
“Jars is a proud guy. He’s a competitive guy. He’s a quality goalie. I think he has a certain mindset that he wants to come in and he wants to prove that he’s the quality goalie that we all expect him to be. And that will play itself out in due time.”
