Coming into this season, Tristan Jarry was supposed to be the main man between the pipes for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On the first day of free agency, the Penguins signed Jarry, 28, to a five-year deal that runs through the 2027-28 season and carries an average annual value of $5.375 million. He was signed to continue to be their starting goaltender and be the guy who can not only get them into the Stanley Cup playoffs, but win games in them.
Unfortunately for both Jarry and the Penguins, that has not been the case this season. After keeping the Penguins afloat for the first half of the season, his game took a nose dive in the second as he is currently (As of Saturday night, April 6) 19-24-0-5 with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage, and six shutouts.
Now, some will say those numbers do not look bad. To the naked eye, they certainly do not.
With that said, he has allowed a lot of soft goals at inopportune times this season. It also does not help that his inconsistent play has cost his team games.
With him struggling, the team turned to backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic, 28, is showing that the Penguins made the right decision, as his strong play has the Penguins back in a playoff spot.
Yes, after being left for dead, the Penguins currently find themselves in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 36-30-11 for 83 points. Besides the unbelievable play of their franchise player Sidney Crosby, it is Nedeljokovic’s steady play between the pipes that has the Penguins in a playoff position.
Nedeljkovic is currently 16-6-0-6 with a 2.82 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, and one shutout. Those numbers may not look sexy, but in watching him, it is easy to see why he and the Penguins are winning hockey games.
For starters, he is playing with a lot of confidence right now. He has won his last four starts and has looked more than solid doing so:
- April 1 vs. the New York Rangers: Stopped 28 of 30 shots.
- April 2 vs. the New Jersey Devils: Stopped 23 of 26 shots.
- April 4 vs. the Washington Capitals: Stopped 30 of 31 shots.
- April 6 vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning: Stopped 30 of 34 shots.
He is also coming up with big saves at the right time. Time and time again over these last several games, Nedeljkovic has come up with a save when his team needs one the most and it ended up providing the whole club with momentum.
This was especially the case in his team’s big 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon, April 6. He made a sprawling save late in the game that helped seal a crucial win for his hockey club.
In speaking with reporters after the game, Crosby heaped praise on Nedeljkovic.
“It’s a lot of poise,” Crosby said of Nedeljkovic, whose quick reflexes and sharp instincts provided one of the best responses to pressure by a Penguins goalie this decade.
“He saw the puck well, especially on that play, (and) made a huge save. Just to have the IQ to put (it) in the corner and kill the clock was huge. It took the pressure off me so I didn’t have to take another faceoff.
“I wish I would have won that one to make it a little easier on him. But you need big plays like that.”
Lastly, Nedeljkovic is showing both the Penguins and the league that he can be a starter in the NHL. With the way he has played recently, he has practically wrestled the starter’s position from Jarry.
Nedeljkovic is playing in important games, winning important games, and doing so at the most important time of the season. As mentioned above, it looked like the Penguins were not even going to make the playoffs, but because of Nedeljkovic’s recent stretch of games, the Penguins have put themselves in a position where there is a possibility to sneak in.
That is one all can ask of a goaltender, and right now, for the Penguins, that goaltender is Alex Nedeljkovic.
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