Tristan Jarry Calls on Oilers to Be Better in Front of Him

The roller-coaster ride that is the Tristan Jarry experience has been in full swing during his short time as an Edmonton Oiler.

He opened with three solid games after being acquired, then missed nearly a month with a lower-body injury. Upon returning, Jarry again put together three strong performances, only for things to unravel during his latest three-start stretch, in which he’s allowed 15 goals on 84 shots.

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Things came to a head Saturday night against Minnesota, as Jarry was pulled just over halfway through the game after surrendering five goals on 20 shots — including several you certainly have to believe he’d want back. That said, the Oilers’ netminder didn’t exactly shoulder the blame, instead appearing to point to breakdowns from his teammates in front of him.

When asked about yet another high-scoring night against, Jarry deflected the focus toward the team game.

Jarry said:

“It’s tough. I think the chances that we’re giving up — some of the shots — they’re tough. I think it’s a lot of Grade A’s, a lot of breakdowns. I think it’s tough to really think about your game at this point. I think it’s a whole team game.”

Jarry pointed to the type of game the Oilers play as a problem for netminders, especially if the team is too focused on offense. “It’s tough because the way we want to play, we want to play fast and up, we want to play in their end. And I think when we’re taking some of those chances, they come back at us, and it’s tough. So I just think we have to make sure we’re managing the puck a little bit better.”

The 30-year-old Jarry now sits with a 6-3-1 record as an Oiler, having posted a 3.59 goals-against average and a .873 save percentage with one shutout along the way. He’s in year three of the five-year, $26.75 million extension signed with the Penguins back in 2023.

The Oilers Need Better From Tristan Jarry

It’s the same conversation that’s been had in Edmonton for years: the goaltending simply has to be better if this team is going to win games — and ultimately contend for the Stanley Cup.

The timing of Jarry’s recent woes has unfortunately coincided with Connor Ingram — who stepped up in a big way and earned himself a full-time spot with the big club while Jarry was hurt — also going through a dip in play of late himself.

Amazingly, the Oilers have still managed to win three of their last five games despite the goaltending having been somewhat of a disaster. That, of course, goes to show you how brilliant Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and company are, but at the same time, it has to be frustrating knowing how much better this team could be with more consistent play in net.

In Jarry’s defense, he’s only made nine starts with his new team and is still getting acclimated to the big change, but that can’t be used as an excuse anymore. The playoff race is tightening, with the Kraken, Kings, Ducks, and Sharks all within six points of the Oilers — all with several games in hand — so they can’t afford for these struggles in goal to linger much longer.

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