Sully Says: Jarry's Calm Demeanor Is Contagious

Tristan Jarry hoped to pick up right where he left off in his return to the lineup on Friday after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.
He was better than ever in Pittsburgh's 4-1 victory against the Senators, making 44 saves - one shy of his career high - to help the Penguins get two points in the second half of this home-and-home following a 4-3 overtime loss in Ottawa on Wednesday.

"He was phenomenal," said Jason Zucker, who scored in the contest along with Rickard Rakell and Jake Guentzel. "There was no rust in his game at all. I thought he played great. He was playing the puck really well. I thought he did a really nice job helping our D out. He played really, really well, so that was a big part of the game for us."
When asked how he felt following such a busy night, the Penguins netminder quipped, "well rested."
"I've had a little bit of time off," Jarry continued with a smile. "It's never easy having to watch games, and it's never easy having to watch guys go out every night and give it their all, and you can't be out there with them."
Jarry said it helped to get a lot of shots early and get into the feel of the game, especially since he didn't have the benefit of a full team practice before coming back. The first half of the first period flew by, as both teams were able to create more of a flow after Wednesday's contest was filled with special teams play.
But after winger Brock McGinn laid defenseman Erik Brannstrom into the boards with a clean hit, he got challenged to a fight by Travis Hamonic - who got an extra two minutes for instigating. Rakell got his second power-play goal in as many games and extended his point streak to four contests.
His linemate Zucker built on that lead with a beautiful unassisted tally later in the period, before Guentzel got his first in the second. Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, who scored the overtime winner in Ottawa and added three assists, got on the board late in the middle frame to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Senators - who got all four of their goals in the previous matchup on the man-advantage - then headed to a power play early in the third. Not only did they kill it off on their way to going a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill - the Penguins created a couple of shorthanded chances to top it off.
"I think we paid attention to the details," Jarry said. "I think we were getting pucks down deep, and when we do that, we're able to change and circulate through some guys. That helps us stay fresh, so if there is a rebound or an extended shift, guys are in the right spot. It helps a lot when we're defending hard."
Guentzel earned it back in the third, when his pass attempt to Sidney Crosby on a 2-on-1 deflected off a defender's stick and in. He has now hit the 20-goal mark for the sixth time in his career, reaching it in just 41 games.
"Just fortunate to play along good players. Lucky to score goals in this league," Guentzel said. "It's a special time, and you just try to enjoy it as much as you can."
Here's what head coach Mike Sullivan had to say following the win.
On Tristan Jarry's performance:"I just think he's such a good goalie. He's got such a calm demeanor in there. He makes some difficult saves sometimes look routine, and that's when he's at his best. I thought he was in great control. He had economy in motion in there. The puck hits him, his rebound control is great. He was tracking the puck through traffic. His handles when he gets the pucks on rims, I think he helps our defensemen out a lot, just helping us get out of our end. He just has a calm demeanor back there. I think it's contagious. I think it rubs off on the group in front of him."
On Evgeni Malkin's consistency over the last 3-4 weeks: "I think Geno's been pretty consistent all year. He's playing an inspired game. He's so strong on the puck, and it seems like the puck follows him around. He has it an awful lot when he's on the ice. I think he's got some chemistry with Zuck and Raks. I think Zuck's played his best hockey here, as a Penguin, over the last month or so. That line has been a real threat for us. Obviously, Geno drives the line with his talent and his presence, but he's playing an inspired game. I think he's been consistent for a while."
On Jeff Petry's performance in his first game back after being out since getting injured on Dec. 10: "I just think he helps us in so many ways. The first thing is, he's a terrific athlete, first and foremost. He can just play a lot of minutes. He can log a lot of minutes. He recovers. He's a lot like 'Tanger in that regard. Those two guys can just eat minutes when they're on our bench. They're such terrific athletes. They're so physically fit. He played 25 minutes tonight in all situations. I just think his presence was felt right away, in all situations. On the power play, on the penalty kill, 5-on-5, at our net front. I thought he was really good on the power play tonight. Just making good decisions on the blue line, gets a breakaway on one of the breakouts that they ran. He put pucks at the net when he had opportunities and he had lanes. That's how they ended up scoring. He did a real good job. I thought he made great decisions on the power play tonight."
On what he saw from that aforementioned penalty kill in the third period: "Once again, I thought they competed hard. Ottawa's got a real good power play. It was a difference-maker for them in Ottawa the other night. We try to help them with a game plan to set them up for success. I think the guys that that are going over the boards and being part of that group did a terrific job. They won faceoffs, they blocked shots, they got clears. It was collective effort. It was collective pressure. Probably even more importantly, we didn't give them too many opportunities to get to a setup. That's when I think those guys can be really dangerous."
On how there were over 90 shots, as Ottawa finished with 45 and the Penguins had 44: "I'm not sure I'm prepared to answer that question right now. I'd like to watch the game film a little closer. What I can give you is my reaction coming off the bench. I thought there were momentum swings in the game. There were times when Ottawa had it, there were times when we had it. I think the shots tended to come in flurries when they did. And sometimes - and I'm not suggesting that this is the case tonight, because I think I gotta look at it closer - both ways, the shot clock can be deceiving. It all depends on where they come from, the types of opportunities that are being created, things of that nature. But it was a high shot volume game on both sides. I'd like to believe that that we can play a tighter game. I think that's our challenge moving forward, just speaking for our team. I think we can play a tighter game and limiting some of those opportunities, just allowing them to get pucks to the net. That's something that we've got to work on moving forward."
On P.O Joseph and his older brother Mathieu taking coincidental high-sticking minors on each other: "Well, it doesn't happen very often, as you know. Especially with brothers that are on opposing teams (laughs). I don't know that I've ever seen that. So I'm sure when they have a barbecue at their house in the summertime, they'll have some laughs over that one."