Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry’s harsh self-critique appreciated by teammates
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Following the Pittsburgh Penguins’ ugly 4-3 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks, there was plenty of criticism levied at Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Especially by Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry.
“You play the game to win,” Jarry said at PPG Paints Arena following the contest. “I don’t think I’ve been giving the guys enough of a chance to win every night.”
Through seven games, Jarry has a 2-5-0 record, a 2.84 goals-against average, an .893 save percentage and two shutouts.
He also has the support of his teammates, who appreciated his willingness to take responsibility for the team’s overall malfunctions.
“It means a lot,” forward Jeff Carter said Tuesday in Cranberry. “(Jarry) has been really good for us. He’s the backbone of this team. You want a guy back there that wants to take that one and be that guy. He’s been solid for us this year. You want him to want to be ready every day. And be the backbone.”
At 3-6-0, the Penguins are in last place of the Metropolitan Division. And with six points, they are one of the worst teams in the entire NHL. Through Thursday, only the Edmonton Oilers (2-6-1, five points), Calgary Flames (2-7-1, five points) and San Jose Sharks (0-9-1, one point) have fewer points.
So Jarry is hardly solely responsible for the team’s shortcomings.
Just ask his captain.
“I don’t think any one guy has to do it on their own,” forward Sidney Crosby said. ‘I don’t think it should feel that way. That’s why we play a team sport. That’s the great thing about playing a team sport. We all just have to make sure we’re doing our part. We’ll find ways. I don’t think anyone needs to bear the responsibility. We all want to be better. With that, we’ll get results. We’ve done some good things. (Jarry) has done some really good things for us.
“As a whole, we’ve done some good things. We’ve got to put it all together.”
For his part, Jarry took to the ice with goaltending coach Andy Chiodo before each of the team’s practice sessions in Cranberry on Tuesday and Thursday to refine his game.
“He’s a standup guy,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “All of our players are. We’re all taking ownership and responsibility for where we’re at. It doesn’t surprise me. These guys are fair guys. They’re good people and they take responsibility for their own circumstances. It doesn’t surprise me at all when a player like Tristan takes some ownership for his game.
“That’s the type of people that we have.”
Hinostroza ready
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During Thursday’s practice session, reserve forward Vinnie Hinostroza replaced Carter as the right winger on the fourth line as well as on the second power-play unit. That left Carter to skate on a fourth defensive pairing with frequent healthy scratch P.O Joseph as well as on a penalty-killing unit.
“I don’t know what’s going happen here, but really excited, obviously,” Hinostroza said. “It’s my goal to help this team win and play as many games as I can. So, if I’m able to step in there, I’ll be prepared. I’ve tried to stay on top of my game every day in practice, so just trying to stay ready.”
The right-handed Hinostroza’s skating ability intrigues Sullivan.
“He brings a lot of speed,” Sullivan said. “He has good offensive instincts. He’s got some scoring touch. He’s a guy that I think checks hard. He utilizes his speed on both sides of the puck, but he’s a real good pursuit guy with his tenacity and just playing on top of defensemen. Just with the speed element and his anticipation skills, he has the ability to make it hard on our opponents’ defensemen on breakouts, for example.”