CRANBERRY, Pa. — Tristan Jarry has grown attached to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Since debuting at 21 years old April 9, 2017, the goalie has succeeded Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray as the primary starter.
“It’s everything,” Jarry said. “It’s something I’ll always cherish, being able to pull that jersey over.”
Jarry was back wearing it at practice Sunday, one day after being recalled from a conditioning loan with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
In his ninth NHL season, the 29-year-old hopes for a clean slate.
“Hopefully, that’s the way it goes,” Jarry said. “I want to come back here, and I want to play well. That’s my goal. That’s what I want to do. I want to help this team as much as possible. Whenever I’m in the net, I think giving them a chance to win and helping this team get in a good place.”
Jarry is 1-1-0 with a 5.47 goals-against average and .836 save percentage in three NHL games. He was pulled after allowing three goals on five shots in the first period of his most recent NHL start against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16. Joel Blomqvist made 26 saves in relief of a 6-5 overtime win in Pittsburgh.
After traveling with the Penguins for a road trip in Western Canada, Jarry was scratched for the first two games before being sent back to Pittsburgh on Oct. 23. He went down to the AHL on Oct. 26 and was 4-1-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .926 save percentage.
“It was good, the team played really well down there,” Jarry said. “That team did a great job. They work really hard. It was nice to get down there and play some games, play some games consecutively. I thought I played pretty well.”
“Obviously, it’s never easy when you have to kind of pick your family up and move to a different place and play some games. I think that it’s all part of the challenge. It’s what you sign up for as a hockey player. Obviously, there’s a lot of unpredictability to the hockey games, so I think it’s just being able to pick your game up and play it anywhere.”
Jarry said he discussed the move with general manager Kyle Dubas ahead of time.
“We just thought it would be a good idea just for me to be able to go down there and play some games consecutively, just with having three goalies here,” Jarry said. “I think it really helped me.”
It’s early but to Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, it could have worked.
“He played extremely well,” Sullivan said. “I think it was everything we would have hoped for when ‘Jars’ went down there to get some games. He played extremely well when he was there. He embraced the process, so now it’s our challenge to reengage him and that’s what we intend on doing.”
Jarry shared a net with Alex Nedeljkovic in practice Sunday. Blomqvist worked alone at the other end ahead of a game against the Dallas Stars at PPG Paints Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; Victory+, SN-PIT, TVAS).
Nedeljkovic is 2-3-2 with a 3.07 GAA and .883 save percentage after missing the start of the season with a lower-body injury. Blomqvist, a 22-year-old rookie, is 3-4-0 with a 3.25 GAA and .913 save percentage.
“I think, at the end of the day, that will eventually play itself out,” Sullivan said. “In the short term, we feel like we have three capable guys. I think ‘Blommer’ has played extremely well. I think ‘Ned’ has played solid also. Jars, obviously, has a body of work here that we’re well aware of.
“We’ll put together a game plan where we keep these guys all in the mix. I think one of the potential benefits of it is one of them will have the opportunity to get quality practice time, if that particular goalie isn’t backing up, for example.”
Jarry, an NHL All-Star in 2020 and 2022, is 86-25-19 with a 2.72 GAA, .911 save percentage and 19 shutouts with the Penguins. Entering the season, playing in the AHL for the first time since 2018-19 wasn’t expected.
The response, Jarry said, is what matters.
“I think it’s just having a strong mind, strong mental game. I think that’s all you can really do,” Jarry said. “Obviously, the start of the season didn’t go the way I wanted, and I went down to [Wilkes-Barre] and was able to play really well, so I think those games will help. They’ll help your confidence.
“Winning a couple games consecutively helps your game, so just being able to do that and kind of refining your game, I think will help a lot. Hopefully, it translates up here.”