For over a year now, "Tristan Jarry" has been taboo in the city of Pittsburgh. Say his name and convulsing and vomiting generally follow.
But for some odd reason, Tristan Jarry has turned into prime Martin Brodeur this week.
I'm sure there are some of you reading who fall into the pessimist, "the world is ending" group of Pittsburgh sports fans, but there are probably some of you who are eternally hopeful for what the Penguins still may be able to do in 2025.
The coming paragraphs are going to split you two groups down the middle and assess what Tristan Jarry has done this week, as well as make a historically-driven hypothesis on whether or not it's sustainable.
Tristan "Brick Wall" Jarry
To quote NBA legend Shaquille O'Neil: "I'm sorry [Tristan Jarry], I wasn't familiar with your game."
In the three games since Tristan Jarry has returned to the NHL, he's won all three games stopping 97 of 103 shots, which calculates to a .941 save percentage. It's the second time this season Jarry has put up three straight games with a SV% over .900.
The first stretch came back at the end of November into December when he won four straight games to get the Penguins back into the Wild Card race. All those games were against tough Atlantic division teams. These three wins have come against three tough Western Conference teams.
Jarry's Streaky History
Here's the thing we know about Tristan Jarry: he can be very streaky. The last time Jars put up three games with a .915 SV% or better was over a year ago when he pitched back-to-back shutouts against Anaheim and Buffalo. In that stretch, Jarry won four straight games total.
He can go on a heater and win out a week occasionally, which he's looking to do this week.
However, historically, Jarry tends to follow up winning streaks with losing streaks. Right after that four game winning streak last season when he was pitching shutouts, Jarry lost the next three.
When he's hot, he's hot. But, goodness, when he's cold he's cold.
The longest winning streak exceeding four games Jarry has had in recent memory was seven in a row to start December back in the 2022-23 season. It was part of an 11-0-2 run where his save percentage exceeded .900 in all 13 games.
If you're doing math, that's 24 out of 26 possible points, and it came in the span of a calendar month.
Oh no...am I really going to extrapolate that out to what the standings look like now?
I have to...the hopium beckons me.
Projecting Jarry's Finish in 2025
The Penguins have 14 games remaining this season. With the Blue Jackets losing last night, the Penguins now sit just 6 points out of a Wild Card spot.
Read this carefully, down to the font, style, and syntax: It is possible.
Likely? No. Projectable? No. Predictable? No. Historically hypothetical? No. Ideal? No.
Read it one more time: It is possible.
Yes, the playoffs are still a possibility. And from a statistical standpoint, the Penguins are on pace to make the playoffs when you consider the Almighty Stat. If you need some context for that, click HERE to read up on the March of the Penguins.
Tristan Jarry would have to pull off what he did in that 11-0-2 stretch a few years ago to make the playoffs a reality. I'm not going to make a projection on if he will do that, but he has displayed the capability of singlehandedly winning games before.
If the Penguins can continue to get scoring like they did last night against the Blues paired with Jarry standing on his head and making timely saves, those games in April are going to be must-watch.
In fact, these games are already must watch. Having 87 so close to breaking Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record is reason enough to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins.
You might be pro-tank, you might be pro-hope. But whatever you are, just enjoy the ride and be positive. Take a page out of Grandma Dubas' book.
Hey, the Penguins are 3-0 since she told Penguins Twitter/X to be positive. I've got a gut feeling this next week is going to get very interesting.
Buckle up, buttercup.
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