PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Tristan Jarry gave up more goals in the first round of the playoffs than any NHL goalie. Only the two Florida goalies had a worst save percentage and at least they were facing Tampa Bay.
He was the only goalie to give up more than three goals a game that played every game.
Yet his teammates, if only publicly, support him going forward.
"Tristan is an unbelievable goalie and he's an unbelievable guy," said forward Bryan Rust. "Everyone has confidence in him. He's been great for a while. He's an awesome goalie and an awesome guy."
"It doesn't affect confidence I have in him," said defenseman Mike Matheson. "No chance. I think he's one of the best goalies in the league."
"I truly believe he's a number one goalie who got the job done for us all year long," said defenseman Kris Letang. "It's been two years in a row that he's been one of the best at his position. I truly believe we have a great goaltender on our hands."
The 26-year-old won 25 out of 38 games in the regular season. That's 4th in the NHL. It's worth pointing out because there is something to be said for being able to win.
The rest of the numbers--a 2.75 goals against average, that was 43rd in the league. Save percentage of .909, 39th in the league.
"I know there's been a lot of attention and a lot of blame on him through the series," Matheson said. "I think that's unfair, it's a team game. Through each game we made a lot of mistakes throughout the lineup. To be able to think that you can narrow it down to one person or one position is unfair."
I don't know if there is ever another Hall of Fame player that got more heat, and sometimes deserving, than Letang. Every mistake he ever made seemed to be highlighted as he became reasons for the Pens not advancing in the past.
"I think myself I've been in those types of situations," Letang said. "At the end of the day, you win as a team you lose as a team."
"We were not capable of getting an extra goal. It's part of the learning process. You go through ups-and-downs and you have to take away whatever you can to learn and be a better player."
"Six games of back and forth play at the end of the day, they got the best of it," Matheson said. "There's a lot of reasons for that, not just one. I don't think my confidence in him has changed in any way."
Throughout the series, Sullivan defended Jarry and spoke of the confidence the team and coaches had in him. Of course with the injury to back-up Casey DeSmith, there really wasn't another option.
There were meetings with Jarry about the future before he left for the off-season.
"We talked about his development as a player," Sullivan said. "Some of the positive things and the progress was made and areas where he can improve and get better. That's a discussion we have with all of our players."
Players are saying the right things, but with Letang, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin aging. Can, or should they, trust the last year or two of the Big 3 to a goalie they are still trying to develop.
