Goalie goals never get old. Just ask Tristan Jarry, as he scored the first one in Pittsburgh Penguins history on Thursday, five years after scoring the first-ever goalie goal for the team’s AHL affiliate.
With just over a minute remaining in the third period, Jarry corralled the puck in front of his own net and used a wicked release to send it the length of the ice and into the Tampa Bay Lightning’s empty cage. Any goalie goal is an impressive feat, but hand Jarry a few bonus points for firing his attempt fairly close to his own net without too much time or space to get the shot off.
The 28-year-old called it the perfect situation to make that attempt, noting that he could release the puck right away. Jarry told reporters after the victory that he had a good idea it had a chance to be a goal.
Jarry’s goal helped the Penguins cement a 4-2 win. In the process, the Penguins (11-10-1, 23 points) gained ground on the Lightning (10-9-5, 25 points) in what is currently a crowded wild-card race.
The goalie goal was the cherry on top of a strong performance for Jarry, who made 39 out of 41 saves to improve his record to 8-8-1 this season.
Not Jarry’s first goalie goal for Penguins organization
Again, this wasn’t the first time Jarry scored a goalie goal as a member of the Penguins organization. In 2018, Jarry was the first backstop in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins history to score such a tally.
Between the regular season and playoffs, there have now been 17 goalie goals at the NHL level, according to Sportsnet Stats.
This marks the second goalie goal of this calendar year, as Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark pulled one off on Feb. 25.
Ron Hextall (two) and Martin Brodeur (three) are the only goalies credited with multiple goals during their careers, but Jarry’s young enough to try to join that list.
