The Penguins starting Tristan Jarry means everything and nothing at all

Facing elimination tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made their first change. Matt Murray is out, and the Penguins will give his competition a chance.

The Pittsburgh Penguins need to beat the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 tonight, to extend their qualifying round and Stanley Cup Playoff lives. With all of this at stake, insert Tristan Jarry, the Penguins 1x All-Star, and potential future to the netminder role. After Matt Murray was solid at best in the first 3 games (85 saves with a .914 save %), he looked shaky all night on Wednesday.

Since this is the first time we will see him this postseason, let’s go back and look at how he did throughout the regular season. He played in 33 games this season and ended with a record of 20-12-1. He made just over 900 saves, with a save percentage of .921%. At times, he bested Murray, but it was noted by Mike Sullivan, that Murray also got the tougher matchups.

This change between the pipes means a lot, but at the same time, nothing at all if other issues don’t change. We discussed yesterday that a reactionary change needed to happen, this is it. Putting Jarry in as the netminder sends a clear message that things need to shape up if, but after hearing individual players’ remarks, they know exactly what’s at stake in Friday’s matchup.

The Penguins starting Tristan Jarry means everything and nothing at all.

Getting fresh blood in net, in a do or die matchup, could have huge implications. Jarry clearly will want to show Sullivan and his teammates what he is capable of, but is it too late? The Habs have been rolling the dice all series and coming up big. They are flying high, and Jarry will have to play a massive roll in shutting down their confidence.

On the flip side, however, if the Penguins can’t tighten up their defense and get better on the offensive, this move will be all for not. Sullivan needs to make several changes tonight, but if the players don’t show up with the heart that they had in Game 2, this could easily be all but over.

Jarry is fully capable of turning the game on his head, and the play of a solid netminder can influence the entire team. Together, they will have to work off of each other, but this move needs to be the first of many for Sullivan as he will need to work his magic tonight in Game 4.