After being publicly called out by his coach just a couple weeks ago, Edmonton Oilers netminder Tristan Jarry was given another shot in goal and it paid off. The Oilers beat the Utah Mammoth 5-2 on Tuesday night, breaking their two game losing skid.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch when speaking to media earlier this month did not mince words " Right now, we are going to be playing the best goalie who (gives) us the best chance of winning each night,”. "Connor is our starting goalie, he will be getting the majority of the starts as of now until something changes.”
This came following a loss to the Dallas Stars that saw Jarry give up seven goals on 27 shots against for a .741 save percentage. Now, things are hopefully picking back up for the Oilers December acquisition as he stopped 16 of 18 shots for the win and a .889 save percentage. A solid effort by the Oilers goalie.
Oilers need their tandem down the stretch
Although this one win likely does not change things, as Knoblauch said Connor Ingram is the starting goalie for the Oilers but he cannot do it alone. Not only do goaltenders generally not play the vast majority of games anymore but Ingram has only ever surpassed 30 games played in an NHL season once for the Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24.
On top of his relatively light workload throughout his NHL career, he has only made three career postseason starts. It is a risky proposition to give Ingram the crease uncontested and it is likely that the team will have to go back to Jarry at times.
Although Jarry himself only has eight playoff games, he has been a legitimate NHL starting goalie and has logged well over 300 games throughout his NHL career. If the Oilers are to make a big deep playoff run, they will need both of their goaltenders in order to do any damage.
General manager Stan Bowman takes a lot of flack for the Jarry trade but between his intriguing statistics and his pedigree, he will need to be relied upon this season and possibly beyond. So, fans need to get used to seeing him don the copper and blue.