Penguins Room: Jarry Earns Coach’s Confidence; Pens Blunt About Shootouts

SUNRISE, Fla. — Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan admitted he is not a fan of ending games with something akin to a skills competition.

No, the Penguins are not very good in shootouts. Once nearly unbeatable in overtime and a shootout if necessary, the aging stars are no longer much better than the opposition in such individual endeavors.

Read More: Jarry Saves Point in 3rd-Period Barrage, Penguins Stumble in SO

The Florida Panthers rallied to beat the Penguins 4-3 in a shootout at Amerant Bank Arena Sunday. The Penguins also fell to an abysmal 1-6 in shootouts this season. None of the Penguins’ shooters scored, which Sullivan seemingly acknowledged was a changing and unavoidable situation. Time keeps moving forward.

Perhaps the team’s final results aren’t as important as the process. Put a pin in that, as winger Bryan Rust, who scored two goals, made reference to both the Penguins’ shortcomings Sunday and what their scrappy attitude said about the organization.

However, the Penguins also lamented their continued poor shootout performance, though few answers are forthcoming. Actually, Sullivan essentially said there are no answers.

How can the Penguins Improve in Shootouts?

Sullivan had to concede to reality regarding the horrific shootout record.

“That’s been the age-old question that coaching staffs throw around forever. The obvious response would be, well, we could practice it, right,” Sullivan said. “But the challenge is you can’t recreate the environment that those guys are participating in when you put 18,000 people in the stands, and you’ve got to go down, it’s very difficult to simulate that circumstance. So, I’ve trotted a million ways to Sunday to try to get better at it on different teams that I’ve coached. My experience has been, you know, you’ve got guys that tend to be inclined or you don’t.”

If the Penguins were 6-1 in shootouts, they’d be in the middle of the playoff fight. Let that sink in. Yet, a solution to the problem seems as impossible as time travel.

“There were some years where we were pretty good at it. You know, historically, our top guys have been great at it,” said Sullivan. “Sid and Geno and Tanger and those guys were at 40% for the majority of their careers. Those guys excelled at it for a long, long time. And it’s not my favorite way to end a game, let’s just say that.”

On Sunday, the Penguins were 0-for-3 in shootout attempts. Rust seemed to have a lot of net but attempted to stuff the puck between Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s skate and the post. The puck got near the goal line but no further.

Jarry stopped two of three attempts, allowing Aleksander Barkov to net the first attempt before stopping the next two. Not even the goalie had any insight on how to fix the problem.

“Just keep going. I think that’s all we can really do is just keep practicing and keep going,” Jarry said. “And I think eventually we’ll break through with it.”

Sullivan was uncharacteristically candid in tone and words Sunday.

Perhaps it just is. Est quod est.

Tristan Jarry

In the real portion of the game, the Penguins couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead in the second period. You’ve seen that movie before, and they generated just three shots in the third period. However, they still earned a point based on the stellar play of goalie Tristan Jarry, who stopped 27 of 30.

Jarry’s performance was better than the numbers, even if the revamped version of Jarry chided himself for allowing a couple of the goals. There were no softies Sunday, but there was surely some soft defending.

“He’s been a huge part of (going 5-1-1 in the last seven games). And so he’s not the only part of it, but he’s been a big part of that, and that’s what’s required to win in this league,” Sullivan said. “If you don’t get timely saves, it’s hard to win. And Jarrs has been giving that to us. I think since he’s been back, he’s been a semblance of himself. We believe that when he plays up to his capabilities, he is a legitimate No. 1 NHL goalie, and he has a big body of work to suggest that.”

Jarry bailed out his team Sunday, but the mistakes in front of him were aplenty.

No one covered Anton Lundell on the game-tying goal later in the third period, nor did anyone simply take away the cross-ice passing lane that allowed Eetu Luostarinen to put the puck on a tee for Lundell.

Ryan Graves merely waved a red cape at Sam Reinhart on a second-period power play.

There were plenty more mistakes that led to glorious scoring chances, which Jarry gobbled up.

It scantly needed repeating: The Penguins’ defense is not good. The recent winning streak and 5-1-1 stretch are born of several factors, but goaltending might be the most notable. The improved results surely are not the culmination of stout defending, neither from the defensemen nor from the collective five-player units.

Instead of noting the style of defending that more closely resembled abandonment, Jarry took ownership of a pair of Florida goals.

“Not bad, obviously. I think on the second one (Reinhart, power play), I’d like a little bit more of a gap. I’d like to get a little bit further on the top of my crease tonight,” Jarry said. “I don’t know if I (would have) stopped that or not, but I think it would have given me a better opportunity. And I think on that third goal, just playing a little bit more of my body in front of it, I think at least helps myself get over there and helps myself get back in a better position to make a save.”

Scrappy Effort

There is no shortage of people who view each Penguins’ point as a bad thing. They are drifting further from a top-five draft pick and could potentially drive themselves from the top 10 if they keep up this pace.

The Penguins are 5-1-1 in their last seven games, putting space between themselves and the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

“I’m proud of the guys. I think we’re competing hard. I think our intentions are in the right place. You know, as I said, I usually say this every night. It’s not perfect out there. You know, it’s a game of mistakes, and we’re going to make some. But we’re trying to play the game the right way. We’re trying to play hard. We’re we’re trying to play collectively as a group. You know, I thought we competed hard all night long.

Should they tank?

Yeah, no. The players are having none of that talk but instead fighting to fortify the pride in the organization. Indeed, while the defense may be in tatters, chasing pucks and players, there are plenty of players elevating their games as they fight for greater roles now and next season.

“It shows a lot about the character and leadership in this room. We’re in here to keep fighting hard and playing really hard,” said Rust. “It doesn’t really matter where we are, what’s going on. I think we’re in here to prove something and still be a good hockey team.”

Rust had a pair of goals Sunday. This July, he will lose his full no-trade protection but has been adamant about staying with the team. Perhaps no player besides Sidney Crosby has shown a greater desire to lead by example. In the locker room, Rust verbalized why they were still fighting so hard.

On the ice, he showed it.