TRIST-ory is Made as Jarry Becomes First-Ever Pittsburgh Penguins Goalie to Score a Goal

“Jarry, he’s going for the empty net…

Bouncing towards the goal…

HE SCOREEESSS! YOU HAVE WITNESSED HISTORY!

Tristan Jarry becomes the first goaltender in Pittsburgh Penguins history to actually score a goal!”

What a moment it was for the netminder on Thursday in Tampa Bay, 56 years in the making. Jarry pumped his fist in the air before getting immediately mobbed by his teammates, all of them grinning from ear to ear as they celebrated the unique achievement, called beautifully by SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcaster Josh Getzoff.

Jarry is now just the 14^th goaltender in NHL history to score a goal, and the seventh to do so in the last 20 seasons, joining Linus Ullmark (Feb. 25, 2023); Pekka Rinne (Jan. 9, 2020); Mike Smith (Oct. 19, 2013); Martin Brodeur (March 21, 2013); Cam Ward (Dec. 26, 2011); and Chris Mason (April 15, 2006).

“It’s pretty neat, honestly,” Jarry said. “It’s something that doesn’t happen very often. There’s very few that have done it. So, it’s something that’s definitely pretty cool. But honestly, the win means more.”

The empty-net tally capped off a 4-2 victory for the Penguins, who had battled back with a gutsy effort after going down 2-0 in the first period. Credit to the Lightning, who had come out strong in their home arena after losing two in a row, building a 17-2 edge in shots at one point.

“We weren't coming out of our zone clean, we were turning it over and they were just finding ways to possess the puck,” Sidney Crosby said. “They're really good in the zone, they move well, and we didn't have a lot in our legs left at the end of those some of those shifts. We just weren't able to change momentum.”

Fortunately for the Penguins, their goaltender was terrific and came to play from the drop of the puck, as Jarry kept the score manageable.

“He was solid. I mean, they had the one tip in there, and then the other one was some traffic. So, he had to battle rebounds and traffic all night,” Crosby said. “To keep it at two and give us a chance to get our feet under us and get back in it was really important. He shut the door the rest of the way.”

The Penguins tied it in the second period on goals from the captain, who is now in the top-25 list for most goals in NHL history, and Drew O’Connor, playing in his 100^th career game. Jeff Carter got his first of the year less than three minutes into the third. Then after the Lightning pulled Andrei Vasilevskiy with over two minutes remaining… it was time to make TRIST-ory.

Jarry called the whole sequence “the perfect scenario,” as not only did the Lightning put the puck right in his wheelhouse – it came in at just the right speed. He had time to look for the boards first to see what was open and what was around, and then made the decision to go for it.

“They dumped it right on net, and I didn’t even have to stop it,” Jarry said. “It was coming into me, kind of coming in slow. I just shot it right on the fly, and it just ended up going in. It’s obviously cool when you’re able to do it. Just when the time comes, I think it’s something that you can’t really force.”

As Jarry fired the puck down the ice, the entire Penguins bench stood up to watch its progress – and of course, they lost their minds with excitement after seeing it cross the line at the 18:52 mark of the final frame. 

“Our bench certainly loved it when it happened. They were all fired up,” Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said with a smile. “It's something that you don't see that often. So, those types of events, they're fun.”

Backup netminder Alex Nedeljkovic tried getting Jarry to skate to the bench for high-fives, like players do when they score. That’s what Nedeljkovic had done after finding the back of the net on Nov. 17 during his conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which was the second goal in franchise history... after Jarry became the first-ever goaltender to do so on Nov. 14, 2018. That goaltender duo has now recorded a combined five goals at the professional level, as Nedeljkovic also got one in the ECHL.

Players like Crosby had loving hearing about those moments, of course – but to actually witness one tonight in Tampa is, of course, much better.

“It’s cool. I mean, to be a part of that - you know, you see it happen, but I've never seen it live and been a part of it,” Crosby said. “I'm really happy for him. It's pretty cool to see.”