Tristan’s Terrible Tumble

Ice skating is hard. For Tristan Jarry, pushing from his right skate to his left to cover two feet of ice is apparently impossible.

Ever since the trade deadline, the Penguins have played less than ideal hockey. I was quick to defend them, as I always do, offering the explanation that a new player in the system plus a concussed starting goaltender is hard to not only gel well together as far as learning the offense in less than a day, but it’s also always tough to deal with from a defensive standpoint when your team’s best net-minder goes down.

However, what I just watched Jarry do in the first period against the Islanders caught me in a very strange place with my emotions. It was sort of a mixed bag. At first, I was, again, quick to defend him. He probably got caught in a tough spot on the ice. But then, for a short moment, I was filled with boiling rage. The kind of rage that spills over and erupts like one of those cartoon temperature gauges does. You know what I’m talking about? Needless to say, I was quite unhappy.

But the more I watched Jarry’s botched attempt to slide from one side of the goal crease to the other to protect the left side of his net from a two-on-three (in the Penguins favor!), the more I couldn’t contain my laughter. I started cackling. Tears were spewing down my cheeks. This has to be the funniest save attempt in the history of every sport ever created on this planet.

Jarry has been pretty streaky this year. Sometimes he’s incredible between the pipes, and sometimes...well, this happens. This is the kind of luck Pittsburgh is having. It’s been present all season.

But just to make light of a bad outcome, let’s take another look at it, shall we?

How about one more, from a different angle, just for fun?

Jarry is just on the wrong side of an unfortunate situation. I still think he’s a fully capable goalie and just wanted to poke a little fun at him to get us all to relax a bit.

That being said, get well soon, Matt Murray. This team needs you more than ever right now.