Grading the Penguins: Tristan Jarry, Injuries, Questions, & Soft Goals

Tristan Jarry suffered multiple injuries in the 2022-23 NHL season, but those injuries are only a piece of the messy puzzle that was Jarry’s season and the failed Pittsburgh Penguins season.

More questions than answers surround Jarry’s season and his future.

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost nine times when leading after two periods and 22 times in games when they had the lead. Only the Calgary Flames (23) and San Jose Sharks (35) lost more leads. That statistic is enough to make one question every aspect of the team, and captain Sidney Crosby lamented the specific nature as he cleaned out his locker last Saturday.

“Not putting teams away” was part of Crosby’s explanation for missing the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season.

Those lost leads are another piece of the Jarry puzzle. Oh those frustrating, achingly avoidable, maddening, stomach-turning lost leads.

Soft goals in the third period seemed to be an issue, as much as mistakes, fatigue, and sometimes losing to better teams.

And they’re part of grading Jarry for 2022-23.

Tristan Jarry Grade: C

This isn’t an easy grade to deliver. Tristan Jarry admitted he battled multiple injuries throughout the season that affected him “every day.”

It wasn’t the rumored hip injury but other injuries for which there is an off-season plan.

In reply to PHN after the regular season finale in Columbus, Jarry also seemed to imply his choice was to fight through the injuries or sit out the rest of the season.

“What I was dealing with wasn’t going to be fixed, so it was either something I play through or don’t play at all,” said Jarry. “And I couldn’t just watch. That’s not me. It was tough watching, and every day, I wanted to be out there no matter what.”

But he still played in the final game leading to legitimate questions about the severity of the injuries and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ usage.

Jarry was in net for five of the nine blown third-period leads, regulation, and OT. He was also in net for the three losses that sunk their season in April (Boston, New Jersey, and Chicago). All three of those losses were tied later in the third period and featured stoppable goals late in the game.

It’s entirely fair to ask if he could have made a few more saves in those games.

He finished with a below-average (for no. 1 goalies) .909 save percentage, yet some of his other stats are slightly above average. His advanced analytics are the reason we awarded a C instead of a C- or D.

Jarry had a GSAA (goals saved above average) of 7.4. Last season, he had a 21.1 GSAA, so that’s a healthy drop, but still in the black.

Jarry also had a .574 quality start percentage which places him below good (.600) but above bad (.500).

Compared to the league average on most stats, Jarry was just slightly above average. For a goalie with his talent, that is disappointing. Stats from Hockeyreference.

Our stat parameters for the following are goalies who played at least 600 minutes. There were 75.

At 5v5, Jarry ranked 28th with a .918 save percentage but 55th with an .810 percentage against high-danger scoring chances. He was 62nd in high danger saves above average.

For comparison, last season Jarry had a .923 save percentage at 5v5 (19th) and an .818 save percentage (30th).

The list of goalies behind Jarry on the high-danger saves is not exactly a who’s who of sought-after netminders. Backup goalie Casey DeSmith was 20th of the 75 goalies.

Cutting to the chase, Jarry was one of the worst goalies in the league against good scoring chances. The high-danger chance stats are from NaturalStatTrick.com.

It might seem the coming decision to re-sign or part with Jarry might be based on his ability to bail out his team. Last season, he was in the middle, and this season, he was at the back.

And we’ll have plenty of analysis on the goalie market and Jarry’s fit in the coming days and weeks, perhaps even before the Pittsburgh Penguins begin to narrow their search for a GM.