BREAKING: What Did Penguins Coach Say About Seeing Jarry For Game 7? Watch Him Face Shots for First Time Since Injury
«[Jarry] looked good to me. I don't know. I'm not a coach. I'm not making that decision.» Words from Kris Letang, quoted by PHN's Dan Kingerski, after Game 6 have sparked the rumor mill, and it is flowing.
So, instead of flooding it, let's just focus on what we actually know.
Fact: Jarry suffered a foot-related injury (still never fully confirmed on whether or not something was broken) against the New York Islanders on April 14, and has been out of the line-up ever since. And not only out of the line-up, but out of practice, as well. He only just recently started skating, and faced shots from his teammates for the first time in almost a month on Friday morning.
Fact: While he definitely saved us in Game 1, and made some key saves in this series overall, Domingue's GAA is 3.65, and his SV% is .898. Jarry posted a .888 in the 2021 six game loss to the Islanders. But he's not that goalie, anymore. We've all seen it. He's All-Star Jarry, and he got us to the Playoffs, so now he should get us through them, as well.
Fact: Jarry made the All-Star game, and won, and was a major player in carrying the Penguins for the first half of the season while they were missing Sid and Geno. The Penguins made the playoffs holding 3rd in the division standings with 103 points and a record of 46-25-11. They have made the playoffs 16 years in a row - the longest active streak in the NHL. Head Coach Mike Sullivan is the winningest coach in Penguins Playoff history. And now, he has a decision to make.
Questions: Does Sully do what Dean Evason did, and put in a cold goalie for a must-win game? And not only cold, but one who hasn't even played in a month. At least Cam Talbot was on a winning streak before he was benched for the first 5 playoff games. But that didn't work out for the Wild. So how can Jarry be game ready? How can he be playoff ready? How can he be New York Ranger playoff ready?
Opinion: I do not envy Coach in having to make this choice. Of course Jarry wants to play. Everyone wants to play in the playoffs. But should he play? You're always going to find comments that anyone would be better than whoever was in net when their team lost. But what if he gets put in, and does even more damage to his foot? Is it worth the risk to possibly win this game, and move on, only to lose him again when they go up against even better teams? Or does he get put in, knowing that Domingue is a solid back-up, and can go in at a moment's notice, even (preferably?) after eating a full meal of spicy pork and broccoli? Louis knew he wouldn't be the starter, forever. His role was to keep the Penguins afloat until Jarry's return. And he has. That Game 1 win was everything to this team. Honestly, if the Penguins had lost that game, I feel like this series would have been over in 4. Maybe 5. But here they are, going to Game 7, and they know they can win on Garden ice. The only question is - who's going to help them do it?
| POLL | ||
Should Jarry Play in Game 7? | ||
| Yes - The Pens need him! | 114 | 45.2 % |
| No - Stick with Domingue | 50 | 19.8 % |
| If Sid's not back, it doesn't matter. | 55 | 21.8 % |
| Just stop giving NY Power Plays! | 33 | 13.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
