After slow start to season, Tristan Jarry proving his 'No. 1 goalie' worth to Penguins

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The resurgence of Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry coincides with former NHL All-Star goalie Ron Hextall taking over as the team's general manager.

In the seven games Jarry played before the Feb. 6 announcement of Hextall's hiring, Jarry had the NHL's second-worst save percentage (.857) and fourth-worst goals-against average (3.95). In the 11 games he has played since, Jarry's figures of .921 and 2.54 in those categories rank among the top third of the NHL.

The numbers don't lie, coach Mike Sullivan said.

"There is a tangible improvement in Tristan's overall game," Sullivan said during a video conference call with media Wednesday. "He's tracking the puck extremely well. He has a certain comfort level in the net. His rebound control has been terrific, and he's made some timely saves for us at critical times that have helped us win games."

Two prime examples of that latter trait stood out during the final 2 1/2 minutes of Tuesday's home win against the New York Rangers. Jarry twice made stops on high-quality chances from Pavel Buchnevich that preserved victory during a one-goal game.

The saves not only fell under the "timely" designation for that reason, they also would be tracked as a stop in a "high-danger" situation for the purposes of stat-keeping. And while Sullivan and Jarry were careful to distribute some credit to skaters in front of Jarry for his improved statistics, it's also true (according to naturalstattrick.com) no goalie in the league over the past four weeks has faced more high-danger shots than Jarry (116).

Jarry's 97 high-danger saves (defined via a formula that takes into account shots from close to the net and/or on rebounds and other factors) are 24 more than anyone else in the NHL since Feb. 13.

"He's a No. 1 goalie, and he's proven it with us," defenseman Kris Letang said. "And he's proven it this year with key saves at key moments. Now he's a really good goaltender, really vocal, good puckhandler also."

Letang's endorsement is meaningful because for the first decade of Letang's career, he had a future Hall of Fame goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, to rely on. Then, for the next few years, Letang could feel reasonably comfortable in having two-time Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray as the Penguins' final line of defense.

But despite an All-Star berth last season — his first getting extended NHL playing time — Jarry didn't have as sterling a resume to fall back on in taking over as the Penguins' No. 1 goalie after former general manager Jim Rutherford dealt Murray to the Ottawa Senators.

"Last year he proved a lot of things," Letang said, "and going into this year, obviously, the team made some changes and I think for myself it sends a signal that we trust in Tristan."

The poor start (2-4-1) didn't help, though. But after allowing 25 goals over his first 379-plus minutes this season, since Feb. 14, Jarry has allowed 28 goals in almost 662 minutes.

More intangibly, Jarry sometimes has been the No. 1 reason the Penguins won a game and/or made a big save or two directly assisted in earning two points.

"When that occurs, I think it helps a goalie's confidence," Sullivan said. "I think it certainly has a trickle-down effect on the team in front of him. It improves our team confidence."

Jarry has started 11 of the Penguins' past 13 games. For a draft pick from eight years ago who never has played in as many as half an NHL team's games in a season, Jarry calls the newfound responsibility and workload "fun."

A key, Jarry said, is treating the saves that might seem to be the most "fun" — such as the ones on Buchnevich on Tuesday — no different than a harmless-looking wrister to the net 3 minutes into the first period.

"It's just keeping in the moment, taking one shot at a time," Jarry said. "That's been my mindset this year: making sure I'm putting my best foot forward and trying to be as big and square as possible and not giving them anything to shoot at."

Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris by email at cadamski@triblive.com or via Twitter .