Tristan Jarry HAS to start while he’s hot. Last night, he turned away 28 shots and preserved a much needed win for the Penguins.
The Pens have won six of Jarry’s eight starts. He’s got a 1.82 GAA and a .940 save percentage.
Yesterday, the Pens were without Jack Johnson, Brian Dumoulin, and Justin Schultz, and Jarry still got the shutout.
Where would the Penguins be without this guy? For as good as Matt Murray was in October, he was equally as AWFUL in November. He's got an .897 save percentage.
If you’re Mike Sullivan, you HAVE to ride the hot hand. That’s what he did last year when Murray played basically the entire month of March.
In this division and in this conference, there’s zero margin for error.
IF the Penguins had their full complement of players and wanted Matt Murray to play himself out of his struggles, I'd totally get it. They don't have their full cavalcade of stars.
The Penguins narrowly made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
The Penguins can’t afford to squander points.
Which makes Matt Murray wholly unplayable right now. It makes playing Jarry a must.