The Pittsburgh Penguins did not blow out the Philadelphia Flyers Monday as much as control the game, then pull away in the third period, when the typically resilient Flyers under new coach Rick Tocchet realized it just wasn’t their night.

Often, a trio of power-play goals and five penalty kills in six chances indicates that the special teams decided the game. While that may hold true on the score sheet for the Penguins’ 5-1 smackdown of the Flyers, it would not necessarily be accurate in the actual analysis of the game.

The Penguins also outplayed the Flyers. And when they didn’t, goaltender Tristan Jarry leveled the play until the team regrouped.

It was yet another stellar performance from Jarry, who has not exactly admitted to having an extra motivational chip to erase a lot of doubters internally and externally, but has spoken of the difference between this year and past seasons, part of which is him learning to deal with his health.

The other part has clearly been confidence. After all, stop a few pucks, and stopping a few more happens naturally. Jarry stopped 28 of 29 Monday, including an early three-on-two on the first shift and a short breakaway on the second shift.

Last year, it would have been 2-0 early. Or at least 1-0.

He moved quickly, post-to-post, while keeping his form to deny some good chances in front of the early power play. And the Penguins faced a pair of Flyers’ 5v3 power plays, each of which was well over a minute long.

“He was great. I thought he was really sharp. You know, breakdowns are going to happen. I thought he was on when some of those breakdowns occurred,” said coach Dan Muse. “I thought guys were working back at a higher level when things didn’t go our way, just to be able to work the cover … the ones that didn’t, he was on.”

Rutger McGroarty, who is fast becoming a printable quote machine, had a more colorful take.

“I think the best penalty killers have to be a goalie, and Tristan Jarry is quite incredible. I feel like overall for all sixty minutes, he had an incredible game,” McGroarty said.

Jarry’s stat line took a hit when he allowed three goals in relief of Arturs Silovs Saturday when the Toronto Maple Leafs smoked the Penguins 7-2. However, another solid start has Jarry back at a .911 save percentage.

Did you know, Jarry has a pair of seventh-place finishes in Vezina Trophy voting? Actually, I didn’t, either.

This season, Jarry has a .700 quality start percentage, which would be a career high if it holds, and his save percentage is currently the third highest of his career.

Jarry just seems … different.

As the small media contingent finished chatting with McGroarty in the Penguins’ locker room Monday night, we turned toward Jarry. He had already shed his gear for workout shorts and, from across the small room, had watched us talk with his rookie teammate. Jarry was lounging in his stall, arms above his head, his fingers grasping the hooks at each end.

While Silovs has recently struggled, Jarry was literally just hanging out. He could not have looked more at peace.

Hey, Blake Lizotte

The LA Kings did not qualify Blake Lizotte in the summer of 2024, making him a free agent. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas pounced on the light-scoring center, but on paper, it looked like just another body in a training camp full of other hopefuls.

However, Lizotte immediately impressed with qualities the Penguins had come to lack: speed and tenacity.

Lizotte tied a career high last season with the Penguins, scoring 11 goals, and he only has three this season, but the story goes much further than that.

Lizotte has become a fourth-line necessity and primary penalty killer for the Penguins. His game Monday was an eye-opening exposition of what he can bring, and his penalty killing was simply extraordinary.

Even at 5v3, it seemed he was first on every loose.

And the fourth line again created offensive zone pressure. Without digging too deeply into advanced stats, there is one statistical contrast that tells a story that the eyes already know.

Lizotte has started just 4.5% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Yes, less than one in 20. Yet, when Lizotte is on the ice, the Penguins have 53.5% of shot attempts and 54% of high-danger scoring chances. Stats courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com.

Those numbers indicate a lot of changing possession and territory. If you’d like to know why Sidney Crosby leads the league with 18 goals, one reason, aside from power play proficiency, is o-zone opportunity.

In other words, Lizotte’s work is putting Crosby on the ice in the offensive zone. And he’s been terror on the penalty kill.

“He’s been a huge part of (the penalty kill) all year. You know, (Monday) he really played a huge role,” Muse said. “He’s just great with his detail. He’s so quick, he can get on top of things, can get some down ice pressure, the entry pressure, and then in the end zone, he makes really good reads, and he has really good detail.

“So it’s been every game this year, he’s factored in a big way on the PK.”

The Kids Line

I’m partial to The Young Guns, but hey, who cares?

There was an obvious change in the balance of the Penguins’ lineup on Monday. The addition of Rutger McGroarty lifted rookie center Ben Kindel’s game. McGroarty also seemed to lift his former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton teammate Ville Koivunen, greatly, too.

The contrast to Tommy Novak on the line was stark. Monday, it just all clicked.

“I mean, from my perspective, they’re just two really smart players, and know where to put themselves on the ice. For me, it’s just finding areas. I think if I find an open area, I know that they’re going to find me,” said McGroarty. “So, I had a couple (of chances) in the first there that they found me, and I’ve just got to put ’em in the back of the net. But it’s good. I mean, we got some opportunities. And especially in the D zone tonight, I thought we did really well.”

They did, on all fronts, and given the players’ pedigrees, there is no reason to think it can’t continue.

Realize, those three rookies together constitute what could be the Penguins’ top line in a couple of years.

The line had an expected-goals ratio of 70%, they also owned 70% of the scoring chances while they were on the ice, and had four high-danger chances compared to allowing just two.

Maybe McGroarty will help Koivunen finally bury one or two, as well.

Tags: Pittsburgh Penguins rutger mcgroarty Tristan Jarry

Categorized: PHN Blog