Nearing the All-Star Break, the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves sitting towards the bottom of the Metropolitan Division (seventh) and on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. But, a few things can help push the team into contention to take one of the wild card spots in the East, led by their goaltending duo of Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedelkjkovic.
Up and Down Season for Jarry
After signing a long-term contract this offseason, the expectation from the Penguins front office led by Kyle Dubas was that Tristan Jarry would take the next step to being a top-tier goaltender for the team. But even with sitting at the top of the league in shutouts with five, he has had an up-and-down season in the crease so far in 2023-24.
Related: Penguins’ Best Goaltending Option Was Always Tristan Jarry
On his game, Jarry has looked like the goalie that the organization has hoped for. In wins so far this season, he has recorded the aforementioned five shutouts and has a 1.12 goals-against average (GAA) with a .960 save percentage (SV%). But when he has struggled, it has been the complete opposite, as he has averaged a 3.54 GAA and a .884 SV% in losses. While it is not much of a surprise that these stats are where they are, Jarry needs to step up for the team as its number-one starter and play more consistently as the season progresses and the team pushes for a playoff spot. Becoming more of the goalie who has shown flashes of taking over a game from the crease will go a long way toward the Penguins’ chances of getting themselves into a playoff spot by the end of the season.
Ned Looking Solid as Backup
After a disappointing stint in Detroit last season, the Red Wings let Alex Nedeljkovic walk as a free agent after trading for him from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021. He ended up signing with the Penguins on a one-year deal to try and re-establish himself and has done just that this season for the team.
His time as a Penguin got off to a bad start, falling to injury at the end of October and not playing again until the team’s Nov. 19 matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. But since returning, he has filled the backup goaltending spot very admirably for the Penguins and has even gone stretches as the lead guy while having the hot hand. There have been several games in which Nedeljkovic has either kept the Penguins close or protected a lead with some big saves (i.e. the Dec. 31 matchup against the New York Islanders). This will need to continue to happen down the stretch when he is called upon to give Jarry a night off.
Team In Front of Them Needs To Step Up
While the goaltending numbers fall on the goaltenders, the play from the team in front of Jarry and Nedeljkovic plays a major factor in the success of their goalies as well. For example, in the 12 wins that Jarry has this season, the Penguins have given him an average of 4.50 goals of support compared to the 1.82 they have given him in his 17 losses (13 regulation and four shootout/overtime). Along with that comes the support that is given to Nedeljkovic, albeit a smaller sample size. In the eight wins he has, the team has given him 3.6 goals of support while only 2.2 in the five losses (three regulation and two shootout/overtime) he has on the season. With the players that the Penguins added this last offseason, particularly Erik Karlsson, they should be able to better support their goalies while also playing a better defensive game all-around.
Crucial Stretch for the Pens
The rest of the regular season and the potential for a playoff berth for the Penguins will ultimately come down to the play of their two goaltenders. If they can both get to the level that they have shown flashes of throughout the season consistently, then they could very easily create a dangerous two-headed monster for the team in the net. Along with continued solid play from players like Sidney Crosby and the rest of the forward grouping, the Penguins are hitting a crucial stretch of the season if they plan on finding themselves in the 2024 Playoffs.
