3 Things: Jarry comes home
1. Addressing the losses
The Pens have suffered a few ugly losses already during the 2017-18 season. There was a 10-1 shellacking by Chicago, a 7-1 setback to Tampa Bay and, the most recent, Sunday's 7-1 drubbing to Winnipeg.
To have one lopsided loss can be tossed off as just happenstance, twice a coincidence. But three times is a trend that the coaching staff wants to halt immediately.
"There are going to be nights over the course of an 82-game schedule where it doesn't go your way. This early in the season, our team has had a few too many of them," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "It's not so much what our opponents are doing do us, it's what we're doing to ourselves. That's unacceptable.
"It's something that is within our control and the answers are within that dressing room."
Captain Sidney Crosby feels that the common denominator in the losses has been the Pens' play in the first period.
"Our start, we've put ourselves behind early and by a bunch," he said. "It's not a great position to be in on back-to-back nights. Those games, you have to manage them better and give yourself a better chance. When you start off and it's 3-0 in the first five minutes, it's hard to climb out of that."
Some in the media have speculated that fatigue may be a factor for the Penguins having had two long championship runs and playing over 200 games in the last two seasons with short summers. Sullivan wasn't having any of that.
"For me that's all nonsense," he said. "To me, it's a hockey game. We have to be ready to play."
2. Jarry comes home
The Pens recalled goalie Tristan Jarry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Monday and he joined the team on the ice for practice on Tuesday. With the club having back-to-back games against Edmonton on Wednesday and Calgary on Thursday, Jarry could see action in one of the two contests.
"This is where I want to be and where every kid dreams of being when they grow up," Jarry said. "It's something that you work hard for, and every year you strive to be better and better. It's something I work for every year."
Jarry, 22, made his NHL debut in last year's regular-season finale against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He stopped 22 shots on that night.
"It's something you can look back on," he said. "It was one of those first experiences. There's nothing like it."
Jarry, who was an AHL All-Star last season while helping WBS lead the league with the lowest goals-against average, has won three straight games prior to the recall.
Jarry played his junior hockey in Edmonton with the Oil Kings from 2011-15. His best season was in 2013-14 when he won 44 games and led Edmonton to the WHL championship and Memorial Cup berth.
So coming to Edmonton is like coming home.
"With how many years that I was here there are so many friends that I've kept close with" Jarry said. "That's a big thing for me and I love it here."
3. Practice info
Defensemen Justin Schultz and Matt Hunwick, both out with concussions, have begun skating and could possibly join the team later on during the current road swing. They are currently in Pittsburgh.
All of the Pens' healthy players took part in the team's practice.
The Pens used the following workflow…
Sheary-Crosby-Hornqvist
Kuhnhackl-Malkin-Rust
Guentzel-Sheahan-Kessel
Hagelin/Archibald-McKegg-Reaves
The defense rotated.
