Jarry, bud. We need to have a talk.
So, this whole stand-on-your-head-and-stop-30-shots-a-game deal kinda needs to do one of two things: be sustained the rest of the season or stop completely.
Seriously, bud. that's back-to-back games with a save % north of .945.
I get it, you're excited to be back in the NHL after a month off, but we're fighting for a lottery pick here! You're sabotaging the glorious, almighty tank! How could you do this to us, Tristan?!
Jarry By the Numbers
In his two games since being recalled, Tristan Jarry has stopped 64-of-67 shots in games against the Minnesota Wild and the Vegas Golden Knights - both playoff teams.
Shot volume in both games met or exceeded 30 shots against, and that's not to say these shots are low quality. In fact, there have been multiple occasions where Jarry shut down an odd-man rush, something the Penguins have been haunted by all season long.
His pads have been active, his positioning has been immaculate, and his glove side has been incredible in these two games.
The other portion of his game that's been identifiable is his puck tracking. Earlier this season it seemed like Jarry was simply unaware of where shots were at times. Especially in the Minnesota game, however, Jarry was tracking shots, tips, deflections, everything.
Bottom line: in these two wins, Tristan Jarry has been amazing, but perhaps to a fault.
Strangely, Jarry's Play Isn't Ideal
Now it's weird to say that Tristan Jarry turning back into the All-Star, Vezina candidate from a few years ago is bad, but it is.
The Penguins' two wins against teams they were projected to lose to have taken them out of the bottom five in the NHL overall standings. They've been passed by Seattle and soon to be passed by Philadelphia.
All the while, the wins are not gaining them any ground in the Wild Card race. The Penguins still sit eight points out of a spot and are not favored with games in hand.
Jarry's resurgence is singlehandedly ruining the tanking effort, and the teams the Penguins are looking to sink below in the standings are pulling an UNO reverse on them.
The Only Alternative...The March
I'm going to teach some of you older readers a word. It's called "hopium". No, don't look it up in the dictionary. You won't find it.
Much like opium, a narcotic that gives you a rush of euphoria, hopium is a legal drug that's sprung from your favorite sports team making you hallucinate visions of playoffs and Stanley Cups after a few "meaningless wins".
We are a third of the way through the month, but perhaps like 2024, the March of the Penguins is just beginning.
There is no running from it. No hiding from it. No skirting around its sovereignty. March is the tell-tale month.
Perhaps Tristan Jarry has been made aware of this, knowing that his efforts could perhaps perform something so egregiously ridiculous that it would be spoken of for eons to come.
No.
It can't be. I won't allow it. As much as hopium is a drug, reality is its cure...
Unless...