CALGARY, Alberta _ The Penguins lost out a chance to pick up two points in the standings. What they gained _ if what transpired Thursday turns out to be real _ could mean more over the balance of the season.
Tristan Jarry made his second NHL start during a 2-1 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. And while Jarry didn't pick up the win, he did enough encouraging things that it could go a long way toward addressing the Penguins' backup goaltender situation.
The first goal Jarry allowed was a Sean Monahan power-play tally at 15:53 of the third period that clanked off Brian Dumoulin's skate.
The second was the result of a great play by Matt Tkachuk off a Penguins turnover and a Mark Giordano snipe at 2:19 of overtime.
The penalty call _ a high-sticking infraction on Kris Letang _ that led to Monahan's goal was one of several on the night that Penguins coach Mike Sullivan likely disagreed with, including a roughing call on Ryan Reaves late in the second.
Jarry, however, looked calm and composed beginning with his first save of the night, a stop on Michael Ferland's redirect after a terrific Penguins start that left Jarry with little to do but watch.
Turning to Jarry was something the Penguins had planned to do all along, Sullivan and general manager Jim Rutherford insisted on the road this week.
Rutherford said the organization wanted Jarry to finish out last weekend in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while fine-turning a couple things in his game, and the swap would be made with Casey DeSmith on Monday.
DeSmith did little to nail down the backup job after allowing three goals on 15 shots Sunday in Winnipeg.
Goaltending coach Mike Buckley said he thought seeing DeSmith get the promotion over him would be a "wakeup call" for Jarry, a former second-round pick, and that's exactly what it seemed to be.
Jarry won three starts in a row before the recall, stopping 48 of 52 shots in his last two.
"He's a good young goalie," Sullivan said before the game. "He has good size. He takes up a lot of net. He can play the puck extremely well. He's a competitive kid. He's played some really solid games as of late in Wilkes-Barre."
The intention all along was to let Jarry develop, to not ease him into this role, but poor performance from Antti Niemi _ specifically on the second night of back-to-backs _ forced the Penguins to adjust.
They entered this one having been outscored 29-7 on the second night of these situations, losing all four.
Different story Thursday. The Penguins played a much more responsible game from the drop of the puck but still saw their losing streak against the Flames extend to five, the first time in the history of the series the Penguins have lost five in a row.
Sidney Crosby entered this one with 10 goals in his last nine games against Calgary but was quiet for much of the night. Similarly, the power play, which had scored in all nine road games of the season, was unable to get a goal.
The Penguins enjoyed another solid start. That had to be pleasing to Sullivan. Ditto for how hard his team defended.
Pursuing the puck aggressively has been something Sullivan has wanted to improve upon, and that happened early against Calgary.
Their lone power-play chance netted a battle between Patric Hornqvist and Flames goaltender Mike Smith but no goals. Carl Hagelin later drove the left wing and cut it on the net with speed, but Smith stopping Hagelin with a pad.
Bryan Rust had a chance to break the scoreless tie at 4:42 of the second period, when he blew past T.J. Brodie on a drive to the net. The puck rolled off Rust's stick went through Mike Smith's pads on its way to leaving the crease.
Jarry continued his strong work on the Flames' first power play, making three key stops to extinguish a slashing call on Phil Kessel. Things were considerably more calm on the second Calgary power play, with zero shots on goal.
The Penguins mounted an offensive push late in the period, as Conor Sheary turned and fired from the slot. Rust had a whack at two follow-up attempts, but the Penguins couldn't get the better of Smith.
A glorious scoring chance unfolded at 9:51 of the third period, when Jake Guentzel tried to lift a backhand attempt past Smith after a saucer pass from Phil Kessel. Another strong Smith stop, and Guentzel failed to score for the ninth time in the past 10 games.
