Just when it seemed like Tristan Jarry was figuring things out, he took another major step backward on Tuesday night. The Edmonton Oilers netminder, who has been forced into a back-up role, entered Tuesday’s game having picked up wins in each of his past two outings, where he combined to make 30 of 33 stops. By no means was he playing lights out, but it seemed he was slowly getting his game back on track.
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Any recognition of improvement has been thrown to the wayside, however, as he allowed six goals on just 31 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday. Making matters even worse was that the Oilers held three separate leads in the game, but weren’t able to get the saves they needed from their goalie in order to walk away with two points.
“We had a few leads tonight, and they were able to respond very quickly. The one lead they had, we responded very quickly too, but I guess it was a game where neither team wanted to run away with it,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who chose not to criticize his goaltender. “It was nice to see the offence was there, we had the goals, but too many chances against.”
Though Knoblauch chose not to address the elephant in the room, Oilers fans are well aware of what led to last night’s loss. Once again, the biggest culprit was the goalie who they chose to acquire from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a move that saw them lose both Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak. Based on what we’ve seen, there’s almost no reason to believe things will turn around for the better, and that’s saying something given just how bad Jarry has been.
Jarry’s Save Percentage is Abysmal
Before getting into Jarry’s stats since the trade, let’s first start out by addressing the obvious: being a goalie for the Oilers isn’t always the easiest of tasks. They tend to play a run-and-gun style which can often result in them giving up plenty of high-danger chances. That said, they’ve cleaned their defensive issues up in a big way since the Olympic break.
Since the Olympic break, Connor Ingram, who has turned into this team’s number-one option, has posted a 2.87 goals against average (GAA) along with a .894 save percentage (SV%) in 15 games. Those aren’t exceptional numbers, but they have been good enough to give the Oilers a chance to win. It’s also worth noting that the average SV% this season is .896, indicating that Ingram is giving them average goaltending. That, at least as of late, has been all the Oilers have needed.
As for Jarry, his numbers are far, far worse. After his rough outing versus the Mammoth, his GAA through 18 appearances with the Oilers jumped to 3.95. Even worse, he sports an absolutely horrendous .856 SV%. The only goalie who has posted a lower SV% this season is Petr Mrazek, who has played just 10 games due to injury.
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Oilers fans thinking they haven’t seen a goalie play this bad for their team before aren’t incorrect, either. His .856 SV% is actually tied for the lowest in franchise history among goalies that have played at least 15 games. Who is he tied with, you ask? That would be Ron Low, who sported the exact same SV% in 24 appearances with the Oilers during the 1980-81 season. The league-average SV% in 1980-81 was also significantly lower at .876.
Oilers Have to Rely on Ingram
At this point, it’s too late to suggest Jarry is simply just adjusting to his new roots. His confidence is absolutely shattered, and one can’t help but think his teammates don’t have any sort of faith in him right now, either. While it’s possible he’s able to find his game next season, there is little reason to give him the net again for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign, including the playoffs.
