Updated on 06.18 | Published on 06.15
New York. Tristan Jarry fulfilled every Tampa goaltender’s dream last night.
He became the first Pittsburgh goalie ever to score.
“It doesn’t happen very often, so it feels great,” he says with a smile after the 4-2 win.
There was just over a minute left in the game at Amalie Arena, and Tampa, looking for a comeback, brought down goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Then Tristan Jarry got the ball in his box and saw his chance. He shot it in a long arc across the ice, and after bouncing into the castle it slid into the empty box.
There was a state of intense jubilation among the 28-year-old Canadian’s teammates – for example, as Erik Karlsson threw himself into his arms – and they wondered what was going on.
Only sixteen goaltenders in NHL history — the last of whom was Linus Ullmark last year — have never scored a goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
– It was a perfect scenario, they threw the ball straight into the penalty area and I didn’t even have to stop it, I just shot the ball and managed to hit it high and far enough, says Gary when he met the media afterwards.
– This doesn’t happen often, and only a few have been able to do this, so it seems pretty cool. But honestly, victory means more.
Yes, it was amazing enough in itself. The Lightning had a 2-0 lead after the first period, but the Penguins came back from behind to win 4-2.
Our pressure after the first half was great. “I’m proud of the guys,” coach Mike Sullivan says.
Marcus Pettersson had an assist for the Penguins and Victor Hedman had an assist for the Lightning.
