Take a bow, Tristan Jarry.
The Penguins goaltender was named the NHL's second star of the week after going 2-0 and turning away all 61 shots he faced in his past two starts. Those performances helped to bump the Penguins to 17-9-4 on the year with 38 points, good for the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.
John Carlson (@Capitals), Tristan Jarry (@penguins) and Jack Eichel (@BuffaloSabres) named “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 8.#NHLStats: https://t.co/AcS3Pp8lzx pic.twitter.com/SHyMFM9RTY
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 9, 2019
On the week, Jarry first shut down the defending champion Blues on Dec. 4, posting 28 saves for his third career shutout in a 3-0 Penguins win. He wasn't done there, stopping all 33 shots against throughout a 2-0 victory over the Coyotes at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 6.
Jarry's a brick wall right now, and he's approaching history with the Penguins. He hasn't allowed a goal in the past 144:51, the longest by a Penguins goaltender since Marc-Andre Fleury went 165:06 without allowing a goal from Feb. 1 – 11, 2015.
Pretty decent.
Overall, Jarry's season has been a pleasant surprise for Penguins fans, many of whom felt Casey DeSmith deserved to serve as Matt Murray's primary backup heading into the year. Now, however, Jarry's coming off his strongest stretch as a pro, and he's 7-4 overall with a 1.81 GAA and .943 save percentage (both third in the NHL).
If Jarry keeps this up, Penguins fans increasingly will wonder who exactly is the backup in Pittsburgh.
Next up, the Penguins face the Canadiens tomorrow at 7 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena. Our staff will have the full coverage of that one on our team page.
