Penguins opt to bench Tristan Jarry until after the All-Star Break

The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered another major blow to their season on January 25th after it was announced that Tristan Jarry was going to be benched until after the All-Star break in February. 

Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that Jarry was suffering from an upper-body injury that was going to keep him out of play until after the All-Star break according to Sports Illustrated. 

"We think that'll be a productive time for him to be at his best,” Sullivan told reporters. 

The Penguins have had a very up-and-down season with Jarry, who has suffered a number of injuries that have kept him off the ice. 

Jarry missed seven games with the Penguins this month because of a lower-body injury he suffered during Pittsburgh’s NHL Winter Classic matchup against Boston. 

In the last five minutes of the game against Boston, Jarry was showing signs of an injury in his right side according to Fox News Sports, and after speaking to the training staff he was pulled off the ice and replaced with Casey DeSmith. 

Jarry returned to the net on January 20th and did his part to pull out a 4-1 win against the Ottawa Senators. 

On January 22nd, Jarry had a poor showing against the New Jersey Devils, letting in the game-winning goal in overtime.

Jarry was expected to start against the Florida Panthers in their January 24th matchup but he never made it to the ice and Casey DeSmith was tapped to start. 

“Just two games after returning from a lower-body injury,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Nick Horwat, “the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be without their starting goalie.”

Coach Sullivan didn’t disclose the exact type of injury Jarry was suffering from. But being pulled out of play until after the All-Star game has many fans and sportscasters worried. 

“The 27-year-old Jarry has played well when he’s been in the lineup,” wrote the Associated Press, “posting a 16-5-5 record with a 2.65 goals-against average in 27 games.”

“The Penguins are not as sharp when Jarry is out,” the Associated Press continued, a sentiment that is easily borne out by Casey DeSmith and Duncan Tokaeski's stats this year. 

The Associated Press noted that the Penguins have gone 8-10-3 with either DeSmith or Dustin Tokarski in 2022/2023, which are numbers that aren’t going to help secure the team's spot in the playoffs with what little time remains. 

The Penguins have tapped Tokarski again to act as a backup goalie and he has been recalled from the American Hockey League while Jarry is benched according to Steven Ellis from the Daily Faceoff. 

Mike Chiasson has been chosen to act as Pittsburgh’s emergency backup goalie should anything happen to DeSmith over the next few weeks according to Sportsnet.