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Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch called out the club’s goaltending.
Earlier this season, the Edmonton Oilers pulled off a major move to try and shore up their goaltending, but their results since the move have varied between barely satisfactory and downright worrying.
The Oilers acquired Tristan Jarry (and Sam Poulin) from the Pittsburgh Penguins in mid-December, sending Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak back in return.
Since Jarry’s arrival in Edmonton, he’s compiled a 6-4-1 record – not poor, but also not exactly confidence inspiring. However, his 3.56 goals-against average and .863 save percentage are enough to make Oilers fans wonder whether GM Stan Bowman made the right move or not.
And on Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks in what was Edmonton’s return to action following the 2026 Winter Olympics break, Jarry’s struggles were on full display.
He allowed three goals in the first seven minutes of the third period and was pulled by head coach Kris Knoblauch; he ultimately finished by allowing five goals on the 25 shots against that he faced. Connor Ingram, Jarry’s replacement, allowed a late third period goal, enabling the Ducks to enjoy a 6-5 comeback victory.
Afterward, Knoblauch didn’t hold back in his criticism of Jarry’s poor performance in goal.
“Obviously, I wasn’t happy with the goaltending,” Knoblauch said after the game. “The goals that we gave up, especially in the third period. I didn’t like those.”
There were other mistakes there, but you need better goaltending,” Knoblauch said plainly. “Tonight wasn’t one of (Jarry’s) best games.”
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Edmonton Oilers Goalie Tristan Jarry Called Out His Own Performance
Being the veteran that he is, Jarry knows that his performance, especially on Wednesday against the Ducks, has been lacking.
“If I make an extra save here or there, the game could be different. So I think just being better from that and just keep working,” said Jarry afterward. “If I can maybe find one of those through a screen, or maybe I’m able to handle a rebound here or there… Maybe the puck doesn’t go in the middle, and I’m able to handle that a little bit better.”
“I thought we had a good start,” Jarry said. “I thought we had some traction. I thought we played pretty well. We were going to the net, and we were doing a lot of good things. We just end up on the wrong side.”
If the Oilers are to go on a third straight run to the Stanley Cup Final, they’ll need far more out of Jarry than what they’ve gotten so far since the December trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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The Oilers Acquired Jarry From The Penguins
The Oilers are going to be left wondering themselves if they made the right move in trading Skinner to the Penguins in exchange for Jarry.
The results of Jarry so far with the Oilers have not been what they anticipated when they figured he would finally be the solution to their long-standing goaltending inconsistency issues.
While the Oilers have no shortage of star power up front with the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, their last line of defense has left plenty to be desired in recent years.
Michael Whitaker Michael Whitaker is a sports journalist based in metro Detroit with nearly a full decade of experience with publications like Clutch Points and The Hockey News. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Eastern Michigan University. More about Michael Whitaker
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