PITTSBURGRH (93.7 The Fan) – Still no answers on Pens goalie Tristan Jarry. After practice in California Wednesday, Pens head coach Mike Sullivan only confirmed the injury came after the puck hit his face after his helmet was dislodged Tuesday night in Anaheim.
Sullivan said Jarry continues to be evaluated and is day-to-day. They are awaiting test results as their number one goalie was playing one of his best games of the season Tuesday. Jarry had stopped all 20 shots against the Ducks and coming off a win over San Jose on Saturday night.
Now he’s a question mark against the Kings on Thursday which leaves the Pens with free agent signee Magnus Hellberg. The 32-year-old was the second-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2011. He played one game with Nashville in 2013-14. He would then play three games with the Rangers the following two seasons. With little opportunity in the NHL, Hellberg left and played in the KHL in Russia for five years along with a few Swedish national teams.
The numbers were impressive. Hellberg had a .926 save percentage in 51 games his first season, a .940 save percentage in his second with a 1.32 goals against average. He would have two more seasons of a sub-two goals against averages and had similar numbers in the postseason.
The 6’6”, 220-pound goalie said he learned how play tougher mentally in the KHL, was calmer in the net, better patience and let the game come to him during his time overseas.
“My time there was really good,” Hellberg said. “Every hockey journey is different, started here for five years, up-and-down a little bit. I didn’t make it as I wanted so I went a different route and now I’m back here. Normally people do the other way around, I’m happy with my journey so far.”
“He’s got something to prove,” said Pens forward Bryan Rust. “He came in there, he was awesome for us. He takes up a lot of net for us. He’s a great goalie, been around for a long time.”
“He’s a great guy,” said Pens defenseman Erik Karlsson. “I think he’s meshed well with everyone. Anyone in here, I think we have the belief that no matter what happens, we’ve got it covered, especially in net. He came in under tough circumstances, it wasn’t an easy game. He did a terrific job.”
Since his return to North America he’s been with Detroit, Ottawa, then back to Detroit and now with the Pens. He looks forward to the opportunity to start a game, it could happen Thursday night.
“Coming back to the states, it takes a little bit longer to get back into it and show everybody here what I can do,” Hellberg said. “Every opportunity I get to showcase myself, who I am as a goalie, who I am as a person, is great. I try to live in the moment and play my part in all of this.”