Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert is a big hockey fan. A regular at Penguins games. He’s into Robert Morris’ program at the college level, too.
Colbert said something Wednesday about his own team that I think translates quite nicely into a discussion about the Penguins.
He answered a question about the Steelers’ listless rush attack on offense. It finished dead last in the NFL at 84.4 yards per game.
“You can’t say the runners weren’t good enough, the quarterback wasn’t good enough, the line wasn’t good enough,” Colbert said. “To put out the kind of running game we did, nobody was good enough. That’s a collective effort.”
You can say the same thing about the Penguins and goal prevention so far in 2021. Using NHL statistics and rankings heading into play Wednesday night, the Penguins are allowing 3.57 goals per game. Only two teams are tracking at a worse rate. The Vancouver Canucks are at 3.74. The Ottawa Senators are at the bottom at 4.06.
For as much heat as Tristan Jarry has taken for failing to show the No.1 goalie chops the organization felt he had based on last year’s All-Star game selection, he’s not solely to blame. Erratic defense at times. Defensemen in and out of the lineup. The team penalty killing is at 73.9%. That’s only 24th in the league.
So Jarry and backup goalie Casey DeSmith aren’t exclusively at fault. But they need to get better. And get better fast.
The Penguins are 30th in team save percentage (.878) in front of only Ottawa (.873). Plus, a deeper look at the numbers suggests that for all of the Pens wobbles on defense this year, it’s not as if the goalies have been incredibly strung out.
The team allows 28.4 shots per game. Twenty teams allow more. They have been shorthanded 46 times. That’s fewer than 21 other teams. Their 46 defensive zone giveaways are in the lower third of the league, ranking 24th in the NHL.
Yet the goaltenders have allowed 50 goals in 14 games, tied for the seventh most in hockey with the Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks.
What’s really been noticeable is that 14 games in, only once have the Penguins allowed less than three goals. That was a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Jan. 24.
So when can we expect Jarry or DeSmith to steal a 2-1 or 1-0 game?
Well, Jarry was good against the Washington Capitals Tuesday night during a 3-1 loss. He stopped 39 of 42 Washington shots. And he helped kill five Capitals power plays.
“Tristan played a solid game (Tuesday). He certainly made some big saves for us,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we self-inflicted in the second period with the amount of penalties that we took.”
But maybe on a night last year when Jarry was more in a groove, that 3-1 regulation loss turns into a 3-2 overtime win … maybe?
“When you get that type of goaltending, it certainly can swing momentum and can swing games. For sure. That’s the nature of the sport,” Sullivan said.
As for Jarry, it sounds like he believes better days are coming if he continues to play regularly and sustains some momentum.
“The main thing is getting shots,” Jarry said. “Making sure I get out there early. Making sure I’m working hard. And seeing the puck. That’s the big thing. Just feeling it. Get a feel for watching it. Make sure your timing is good.”
We’ll see how that goes in his next start, presumably Thursday night and/or Saturday in important games against the New York Islanders. They are 23rd in the NHL in goals per game at 2.53.
So maybe that low-scoring win is coming soon.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports | Breakfast With Benz
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