When Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored the first goalie goal of the season Thursday, it was immediately compared to those of the past.
The 28-year-old became the 14th goalie to score a goal in NHL history and the ninth to do so by shooting the puck into the net. And with the recent development of NHL EDGE stats, the historic goal can be compared to the only goalie goal from last season, scored by Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins on Feb. 25, using the League’s Puck and Player Tracking technology.
Per NHL EDGE stats, the empty-net shot on Jarry’s first NHL goal was moving at 55.76 mph, covering 148.7 feet while airborne and reached a maximum height of 16.4 feet above the ice. Ullmark’s goalie goal last season clocked in at 53.24 mph, had an airborne distance of 132.9 feet and a maximum height of 15 feet.
Jarry's goal also traveled a total distance of 175 feet (including after the puck bounced), tying for the fifth-longest distance on a goal this season.
Jarry, who previously scored a goalie goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Nov. 14, 2018, became the fourth NHL goalie to score a goal during the past 10 years; the others were Ullmark last season, Pekka Rinne for the Nashville Predators on Jan. 9, 2020 and Mike Smith for the Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 19, 2013.
And beyond all the fanfare throughout the sports world that comes with scoring such a rare goal, Jarry has had an outstanding season for the Penguins in terms of standard and advanced stats.
Jarry leads NHL goalies with three shutouts this season and has a .919 save percentage, third in the League behind Cam Talbot (.928) of the Los Angeles Kings and Thatcher Demko (.926) of the Vancouver Canucks among the 16 goalies who have played at least 15 games.
Per NHL EDGE stats, Jarry also is near the top of the NHL at his position in terms of high-danger save percentage (.832; 80th percentile) and also the number of games in which he’s had greater than a .900 save percentage (10; 96th percentile).
