TAMPA, Fla. — Tristan Jarry corralled the puck with a minute and change remaining, the Penguins clinging to a 3-2 lead and the Tampa Bay Lightning operating with an empty net.
With little hesitation after a Tampa Bay dump-in, Jarry saucered a perfect puck down the middle of the ice to make history: he netted the first goalie goal in Penguins history, and ensured the Penguins would depart Amalie Arena with a 4-2 win Thursday night.
“It was kind of the perfect scenario,” Jarry said. “They dumped it right on net, and I didn’t even have to stop it. I just shot it right on the fly, and it ended up going in.”
Jarry’s goalie goal doubled as the 17th in NHL history, including playoffs, according to Sportsnet Stats. To teammates like Jeff Carter, who had previously never been a part of a game with a goalie goal, Jarry’s feat hardly came as a shock.
“Pretty impressive, but most guys, it probably doesn't surprise them,” Carter said. “We see [Jarry] shoot the puck in practice, and he can snap it pretty good. So, pretty cool to see.”
Others who were on the ice for the play, like Erik Karlsson, quickly realized what was transpiring after Jarry reared back.
“I could tell right away, because I was the first guy back,” Karlsson said. “I was standing next to him, and you could tell as soon as it left his stick it was on line. So, unless it bounced weird or something, that was in. It was in the whole time. I was just waiting.”
After containing his excitement for a few seconds, Karlsson was the first to embrace Jarry. The bench went ballistic, and all Jarry could do was shake his head.
Jarry has previous experience with scoring, having scored a goalie goal for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins back in 2018. But to join a short list of elite netminders who have scored in the NHL, including the likes of Martin Brodeur and Chris Osgood, is hardly lost on Jarry.
“It's pretty neat, honestly,” Jarry said. “It's something that doesn't happen very often. There's very few that have done it. So, it's something definitely pretty cool.”
Jarry was adamant that it was more important the Penguins secured a win, which didn’t seem all that likely after the game’s opening 20 minutes. The Penguins were lethargic, out-shot 17-2 at one juncture while digging themselves a 2-0 deficit courtesy of goals from Steven Stamkos and Tanner Jeannot.
In an opening frame when the Penguins weren’t at their best, Jarry was an exception, keeping the visitors within striking distance. A sharp Jarry made a season-high 39 saves on the evening.
“He had to battle rebounds and traffic all night,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “To keep it at two and give us a chance to get our feet under us and get back in it was really important.”
Crosby got the Penguins’ scoring started in the second, netting one on a breakaway for his team-leading 14th goal of the season. In the waning seconds of the period, Drew O’Connor finished off a brilliant pass by Evgeni Malkin at the net front, knotting up the tally at two apiece entering the final frame.
Carter, who last scored Apr. 6 of the 2022-23 campaign, gave the Penguins their first lead of the night early in the third, one they wouldn’t cough up. Carter dished to Matt Nieto, who quickly saucered the puck back. With plenty of real estate to operate, the 38-year-old snapped a shot past Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy for his first goal of the season.
“We're thrilled for him that he scored tonight,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “It was a huge goal for us, obviously. Great play all around by that line.”
It looked for much of the final period like Carter’s goal would round out the evening’s scoring. But Jarry had other intentions on a night that belonged to him, etching his name in the history books while putting the finishing touches on a successful road trip.
“[Jarry] did his part today,” Karlsson said. “And some extra, too.”
ICE CHIPS
• Carter’s goal was the 432nd of his career, tying him with Vincent Damphousse for 77th on the all-time list.
• Thursday night’s contest was the 100th O’Connor has skated in during his NHL career.
• Lars Eller skated with the second power-play unit. He got some run with the group during Wednesday’s practice. Thursday marked the first time Eller has regularly appeared on a power-play unit with the Penguins.
• Jake Guentzel extended his road point streak to eight games with an assist on Crosby’s goal.
• The Penguins’ penalty kill, which entered the night having successfully burned off 30 of its last 32 opportunities, went 1 for 2 on the evening.
• The Penguins’ scoreless streak on the power play has now reached nine games. They’ve failed to convert on 21 straight opportunities.
• Jansen Harkins blocked a shot with his left wrist late in the second period and winced in pain as he returned to the bench. Harkins’ last shift came with about 18 minutes to go in the third period.
• Both Vinnie Hinostroza and Dmitri Samorukov were scratches.
THEY SAID IT
“There are moments during the course of the year that I think help to galvanize a group. That could be one of them,” Sullivan said of Jarry’s goal. “We're trying to build a team here. We've got a lot of new guys on the team this year, and we're trying to come together as a group as quickly as we can.”
STAT N’AT
564 — Total goals in Crosby’s career, which moves him into a three-way tie for 24th all time in NHL history.
COMING UP
The Penguins are off Friday before hosting the rival Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena. Then it’s back on the road for the Penguins, first to the City of Brotherly Love before returning to the Sunshine State for games against the Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1
First Published: December 1, 2023, 2:41 a.m.
Updated: December 1, 2023, 2:02 p.m.
