How has Tristan Jarry fit in Edmonton so far?
Early returns for the newest goaltender in the provincial capital of Alberta are strong, but what has made it work?
The Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins made headlines last week, swapping goaltenders Stuart Skinner and Tristan Jarry, among other assets. The move has quickly paid off for the Oilers. While he hasn’t been perfect, Jarry has won his first two starts, including a 30-save performance against his former team on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Steve Peters joined Carter Hutton and Tyler Yaremchuk to explain how Jarry’s play has been working out with his new team.
Steve Peters: When you look at the numbers and you look at the deeper numbers, Jarry’s got some good numbers right now. It’s an upgrade right now. Save percentage, he was 15th, Skinner was 30th. At the goals against, he was 18th, Skinner was 22nd. I don’t know if it’s a big step up because one of the problems that Jarry doesn’t solve is the defensive problems that the Edmonton Iilers have been having. He doesn’t solve the defensive zone turnovers. He doesn’t solve the defensive zone coverage in front of the blue paint. I think Edmonton is still in trouble here.
Carter Hutton: It feels like this trade happens because of just a frayed relationship and a trust issue. Where it’s just same, same, but different, but we have a relationship now where we can build upon. Stuart Skinner was in a tough situation. Not to undermine what he did for all those years, does puck handling come into the equation? This is something that, you know, for me, when I thought about my career and I was battling for positions…you’re just trying to compete with comparables, where I always thought handling the puck was such a differentiator for me. Is that something you think that will help this Edmonton Oilers D-Corps?
Steve: I do, and there’s a big difference, because when Skinner handled the puck for the Edmonton Oilers, it was a quick release. He got the puck, and I don’t want to say panic, but he moved the puck quickly, and at times, that wasn’t the right play. He just threw the puck along the wall. When you see Jarry,…He held it a beat longer, so he was able to beat a forward on the forecheck. I think he was smarter with the puck…that makes a difference. I think his patience with the puck really showed last night, and I do think that’s going to help the Edmonton Oilers’ defensemen get the puck in a better spot and be able to break out the puck cleaner.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…