Jarry Rebuilding Confidence During Conditioning Loan With Penguins

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - It's not often that a longtime NHL All-Star goaltender is reassigned to the American Hockey League (AHL) but that's the case for Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, who was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a two-week conditioning loan Saturday.

After struggling to begin the season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, allowing 12 goals in under seven periods of action - including being taken out of his net twice in the opening month of the season - Jarry comes to Wilkes-Barre looking to get back on track and instill some confidence back into his game.

Jarry got the start Saturday against Syracuse, and while he appeared to be a little shaky to start the contest he settled in and helped his new team to a victory - stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced including a point-blank chance in the waning seconds to close out the 3-2 win.

"I think anytime you could win a game, it helps your confidence," Jarry told InsideAHLHockey.com "So being able to win that first one, I think it really helps and hopefully I'll transition and be able to continue it throughout the week."

AHL Penguins head coach Kirk MacDonald didn't know much about Jarry other than limited interactions in Pittsburgh during training camp this fall, but he was complimentary of the player for how he's handled the situation thus far.

"He was really personal in the room, like joking around with everybody. It's tough in those situations for guys like that to come down or just get thrown into a new locker room," MacDonald told InsideAHLHockey.com "And I think, again, like the attitude was great from this morning meeting them and seeing him with the guys to seeing them on the bench between TV timeouts, talking to guys about defensive stuff. Like, I think that's speaks a lot. He made some huge saves when we needed them."

Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas told the media covering the NHL team that the plan is for Jarry to spend the full two weeks of the conditioning loan in the AHL, allowing him to get the net in five games for the AHL Penguins before bringing him back to Pittsburgh.

The hope is that the AHL stint will allow Jarry to get his game back on track and get back to the high level he is capable of playing.

"Yeah, that's exactly it, just making the best of it, coming down here playing some games just getting better," Jarry said after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's win on Saturday. "I think that's the key, and that's the mindset, I think just having that mindset to grow every day and to become a better person, a better goalie. I think that's the goal with this."