On this night, they sang his name.
“Jar-ry! Jar-ry! Jar-ry!”
Unlike the other afternoon, there was no expletive in front of it.
Such is life for an NHL goaltender at playoff time. When his team loses, it’s all his fault. But when it wins? He’s the biggest sports hero in town.
That is the life Tristan Jarry has chosen.
He was on the right side of the deal Tuesday night.
As bad as Jarry was Sunday afternoon in the Penguins’ 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders, he was that good in their 2-1 win against the Islanders on Tuesday night. It’s fair to say he is most responsible for the first-round playoff series being tied at a game apiece.
There was no better player on the PPG Paints Arena ice in a game the Penguins desperately needed.
I have to admit, I didn’t see this bounce-back performance coming from Jarry. His teammates did, though.
“That’s the Tristan Jarry we all know and love,” Mike Matheson said. “He was making big save after big save. That’s his game. That’s what we expect from him. I don’t think it was anything out of the ordinary for him, as crazy as that sounds. He plays at such a high level. For us to call that his norm, it’s pretty impressive.”
It helped that the Penguins came out ready to play. Brandon Tanev sent that message to the Islanders just 81 seconds in when he put forward Brock Nelson on the seat of his hockey pants with a big hit. Bryan Rust and Jeff Carter further emphasized the point with early goals, two of the 19 shots the Penguins fired at goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the first period. Jarry was thankful for the 2-0 lead.
But, just as they did Sunday, the Penguins failed to add on to a lead. Most annoying, they had consecutive power plays in the second period but managed just one shot on Varlamov. Suddenly, the building’s biggest crowd of the season was on edge. That dread intensified later in the period when Islanders forward Josh Bailey faked out Carter with a terrific move and beat Jarry with a backhander. Just like that, it was a one-goal game.
The Islanders had to be feeling pretty good at that point. They had beaten the Penguins in five consecutive playoff games going back to the sweep in 2019.
The Penguins, on the other hand, had to be feeling pressure. They didn’t just blow a third-period lead Sunday after going 25-1-1 when they led after two periods during the regular season. They had lost 10 of their previous 11 postseason games.
But Jarry saved the Penguins.
He was at his best right after Bailey’s goal, stopping the five good shots he faced in the final 5-plus minutes of the second period. He had 10 more saves in the third, including one on winger Oliver Wahlstrom with 1:12 left when the Islanders had a 6-on-4 advantage. They had already pulled Varlamov when Rust was penalized for closing his hand on the puck, “a mental error,” as he called it. Penguins penalty-killers Carter, Zach Aston-Reese, Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci did a fabulous job in front of Jarry, limiting the Islanders to just that Wahlstrom shot in the final 1:28.
Still, the Penguins were glad to have Jarry in their net at that point.
“He’s been a big part of the success this team has enjoyed to this point,” Mike Sullivan said. “Our players, our coaching staff, our management team, we have the ultimate faith in Tristan. He’s a terrific goaltender. There was no doubt in my mind he was going to come back and have a solid effort.”
It turned out to be a great night for hockey in Pittsburgh.
If you listen closely, you still can hear the crowd’s serenade.
“Jar-ry! Jar-ry! Jar-ry!”
