TORONTO — It was a scene that has repeated itself for nearly two decades. Waves of Toronto reporters surrounded Sidney Crosby in the Penguins’ locker room following Saturday’s morning skate as the Penguins’ captain prepared for his 27th career NHL game in the capital destination of hockey.
Then, for just a moment, everyone’s attention deflected away from Crosby.
All because of a rookie with one game of NHL experience.
Joel Blomqvist was the first goaltender off of the ice and strolled into the locker room, which was a pretty relevant thing, since Tristan Jarry was still on the ice. Mike Sullivan made it official about 15 minutes later, that Blomqvist would get the start against the Maple Leafs.
The rookie played quite well, stopping 29 of 32 shots, but the Penguins fell short on Saturday, 4-2.
It’s only one game out of 82, and it’s not like Sullivan is afraid to go with a hot hand. But there was something rather jarring about this decision.
Let’s consider the facts:
• Jarry, after losing his job for the final 13 games of last season while Alex Nedeljkovic nearly led the Penguins on a rampage into the postseason, was consistently praised by the coaching staff over the past month for reporting to training camp in the best shape of his life.
• Jarry permitted six goals in a 6-0 loss against the Rangers on opening night.
• Blomqvist, an admittedly good prospect but also third-string on the depth chart, played very well in a 6-3 win against Detroit on Thursday.
• Two nights later, a fresh Jarry sat on the bench against Toronto.
• Sullivan believed the third-string, 22-year-old rookie with one game on his NHL resume, gave the Penguins a better chance to win against one of the NHL’s best teams, on the road, in the Maple Leafs’ home opener, on the stage that is Hockey Night in Canada.
The Penguins typically plan which goaltender is going to start games on road trips in advance of the trip. Sullivan was asked if Blomqvist’s performance in Detroit altered the goaltending plan for this trip.
“It had an impact,” Sullivan said.
At this point, it’s very safe to wonder about Jarry’s confidence level, the Penguins’ confidence level in him, and where it all goes from here. Riding the hot hand is one thing, and it’s hardly an unusual thing for a coach. But this is different. Blomqvist is a good prospect and there is no denying how good he was in Detroit. Jarry, however, entered this season under a microscope and was very clearly in the doghouse at the conclusion of last season.
It took only one start for him to sit for consecutive games.
Back in June at the NHL Draft in Las Vegas, I asked Sullivan if he viewed Jarry as the Penguins’ No. 1 goaltender entering the season. His response?
“We think Tristan is an NHL No. 1 goalie.”
Sullivan didn’t say anything wrong by any stretch. But he didn’t exactly answer the question.
A few months later, it seems the uncertainty remains.
With both goaltenders fresh and facing a very stiff test, he went with the kid instead of Jarry just three games into the season. Jarry’s place in the net is hardly set in stone and it’s safe to wonder, at this point, what his future is with the Penguins moving forward.
He’s under contract for three more seasons after this one. His contract may be impossible to move. This is becoming a very bad situation with Jarry and the Penguins. Whether it’s one October game or not, the Jarry-Penguins marriage is rocky and the Penguins are clearly interested in seeing other goaltenders.
There’s one other fact to mention:
• Nedeljkovic skated on Saturday morning and appears close to returning to the lineup. He will need some playing time soon and he’s only a few months removed from temporarily supplanting Jarry as the No. 1 goaltender.
This is a very interesting situation and Sullivan’s choice made it even more clear that the organization’s confidence level in Jarry isn’t what it once was.
Ten postgame observations
• The Penguins played a pretty good game but were the victim of a bit of bad luck, a couple of bad mistakes and the inability to score more than twice.
Sullivan and Toronto coach Craig Berube both agreed that the Penguins were the better team in the first period, and they were. The Maple Leafs, though, carried play for the majority of the final 40 minutes.
The fact is, the Penguins aren’t good enough to beat really good teams unless they control play for 60 minutes. They just don’t have the margin for error anymore because they can’t create offense at will the way they once did.
Still, this wasn’t a bad performance from the Penguins in the least. Plenty of good signs.
• Stick tap to Evgeni Malkin, who notched a very impressive milestone. Malkin once again was one of the best players on the ice and recorded two assists, the second of which gives him 1,300 career points.
Malkin downplayed the accomplishment following the game because he was irritated that the Penguins lost. I bring this up because that competitiveness is one of the things that makes him so special.
Through three games, he’s been the Penguins’ best player.
Quite a shot by Rakell, and quite a milestone for Evgeni Malkin 🎉 pic.twitter.com/MneS3hQ6dR
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 13, 2024
• Back to Blomqvist.
He was very good for a second straight game. He gave up one goal on a semi-breakaway to Mitch Marner and another on a two-on-none, as William Nylander took care of business. No goalie was stopping that one.
Toronto’s other goal, scored by Matthew Knies, wasn’t a bad one either. It was perhaps an example of the goaltender’s inexperience — “I wasn’t expecting that bounce off of the boards” — and the fact that he isn’t great at handling the puck. An advanced puck handler may have been able to stop the puck from going toward the slot after it caromed off of the boards. But that’s being picky.
The kid was absolutely outstanding and robbed Auston Matthews on four different Grade-A looks.
“He’s good,” Malkin said, shrugging his shoulders, when asked about the rookie.
No one is dismissing that.
“He was really good,” Marcus Pettersson said. “Again.”
• The Penguins just made a few bad mistakes, and against a team as talented as Toronto, such mistakes are killers.
Sidney Crosby and Pettersson miscommunicated on a play when Crosby let the puck go to the point, something Pettersson wasn’t expecting. Marner scored quickly thereafter.
Bryan Rust, in his first game back in the lineup, took a really bad offense zone penalty in the final seconds of the third period.
Stuff like that might fly against the Red Wings, but not against the Maple Leafs.
• Having Rust back in the lineup is no small thing, however.
He was his tenacious self in the first period, creating havoc on the forecheck. He looked a little winded in the final two periods, but he hasn’t been on his skates much in the past two weeks. So this is understandable.
“He does so much for us,” Pettersson said. “Having him back is huge.”
• A number of bizarre events led to Nylander’s goal in the second period.
A linesman briefly found himself tied up with the Penguins along the boards. Moments later, Malkin’s stick was slashed. And then, Michael Bunting’s pass to Matt Grzelcyk hit a patch of ice — and the ice was terrible in Toronto according to many of the Penguins — which threw off the Penguins enough to give the Leafs a two-on-none rush.
stylin’ to the MAX! 😎 pic.twitter.com/ICm96zxSDt
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 13, 2024
Toronto was the better team in the last two periods, but bad breaks like that weren’t the Penguins’ friend.
• Time to give Ryan Graves some credit.
He did blow a tire in the first period in Penguins’ territory, but after that, he was actually very solid. Graves was decent in Detroit, also.
I’ve been plenty critical of him, and fairly so, in my opinion. But that’s two games in a row in which I thought he did solid work and it deserves to be mentioned.
• Kris Letang was out of sorts during the first two games of the season and had a couple of rough early shifts in this one.
Then, he scored on a power-play rocket to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
A power-play goal for Kris Letang? We LOVE to see that! pic.twitter.com/PzQiajqMzT
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 12, 2024
After that, he looked more like the Letang that will help the Penguins.
• The Leafs weren’t at their best, but great teams don’t have to be to win. Maybe they aren’t built to win in the playoffs, but the Leafs are a great regular-season team.
• The Penguins return to action on Monday night for a Thanksgiving (Canadian) Night game against the Canadiens in Montreal. If they can win that game, they come home 2-2, which would be quite a victory after the season opener.
I’m guessing Jarry is back between the pipes in that game. The pressure on him is mounting. It will be a big evening for him if he plays.
(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)
