NEW YORK -- Tristan Jarry needed a bounce back game on Thursday.
Jarry had struggled since returning from the upper-body injury that had sidelined him for a month on Feb. 20. He made nine starts since then and had been yanked early in three of them, posting a .863 save percentage and 4.02 goals-against average in that span.
Casey DeSmith, meanwhile, has been playing some of his best hockey as of late. In his last eight appearances -- including three relief appearances for Jarry -- DeSmith has recorded a .925 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.
Ideally, a team would ride its hot hand. Right now, that's DeSmith. The Penguins can't do that this time of year, though. While these points matter, getting Jarry back up to form in the 15 games before the playoffs begin was a big priority coming into Thursday's game against the Rangers here in New York.
"At the end of the day, we think we have two real capable guys," Mike Sullivan said prior to the game. "We're trying to make the best decisions for the team, both in the short term and in the big picture. Jars, when he's at his best, in my mind he's one of the best in the league. Our challenge is to help him get there. We don't think he's far off. We think he's close. We're going to continue to work with him."
The Penguins didn't get the win Thursday, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Rangers. Jarry, though, played one of his best games in awhile. It was an encouraging sign from him after the way some of his previous starts had went.
Jarry let in three goals in this game -- the fourth goal was an empty net. None of the goals could be considered "soft." The first was a breakaway tally from Mika Zibanejad, and the next came after a misplay by Jeff Carter and P.O Joseph in the Penguins' own end set up Tyler Motte for a quick shot that went five-hole. The third came when Chris Kreider outmuscled Brian Dumoulin in front of the Penguins' net and knocked Dumoulin over, leaving Kreider all alone in front of Jarry.
Jarry finished the night with 31 saves on 34 shots for a .912 save percentage, only his fifth game with a save percentage above .900 in his last 10 games. He was perfect on the 15 low-danger and nine medium-danger shots he faced, and stopped five of the eight high-danger shots he faced.
"Yeah, it's been a tough stretch for me," Jarry acknowledged after Thursday's game. "Every game I want to be better, and every game I have to be better. That's on me, to practice hard, to get the reps I need and be able to come in every game."
In some of the games during this "tough" stretch for Jarry, he just hasn't looked like he's moving right on some of the goals he's let in. Some of his lateral movements have looked awkward at times. There wasn't any of that in this game, though. He looked like he was moving just fine.
His coach was encouraged with what he saw.
"I thought it was his best game," Sullivan said. "I thought he was real solid, he kept us in it early. He gave us a chance, he made some big saves early in the game. ... I thought Tristan played well. I thought he took a big step."
Jarry's going to need to keep taking those steps -- and stay healthy -- over these next 14 games and beyond. Goaltending has been the Penguins' biggest problem in the last two playoff series, with Jarry struggling against the Islanders in 2021 and being unavailable until Game 7 last season. It's hard to fault him for being injured last year -- a broken foot isn't something that can be prevented or fixed with more strength and conditioning. But Jarry still showed strength and some toughness that series in coming back for Game 7 to step in for Louis Domingue despite not even being close to 100% himself. Had the Penguins won that game and moved on, the plan was to put him back on the shelf in Round 2 as his foot continued to heal.
Jarry doesn't need to rest up going into the postseason this year -- he needs and wants to play. And he's hoping that he gets a good share of these last remaining starts this season in order to be at his best for when the games matter the most.
"I want to play as many games as possible and you want to play in all the big games," Jarry said. "But at the end of the day, it's (Sullivan's) choice. Ultimately, you just have to be ready for what he chooses."
