Tristan Jarry made NHL history Thursday night, becoming the first goalie in Pittsburgh Penguins history to ever score a goal.
Jarry’s unassisted empty-net goal with just over a minute left in the third period lifted the Penguins to a 4-2 road win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Nov. 30, with the Surrey-born, North Delta-raised netminder making 39 saves on the night.
“It’s pretty neat, honestly,” Jarry told media after the game. “It’s something that doesn’t happen very often. There’s very few who have done it, so it’s something [that’s] definitely pretty cool. But honestly, the win means more.”
The 28-year-old called it “the perfect scenario,” as a weak pass from Lightning d-man Victor Hedman tipped off the stick of teammate Anthony Cirelli.
“They dumped it right on net and I didn’t even have to stop it, I just shot it right on the fly and it just ended up going in,” he said.
“It was coming in kinda slow and I was able just to get around it and shoot as hard as I could.”
“It was pretty lucky.”
For the first time in Pittsburgh Penguins history, we have a GOALIE GOAL! pic.twitter.com/fXvx99fvRh
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 1, 2023
Both the fans at Amalie Arena and Jarry’s teammates erupted as his shot crossed the goal line.
“Our bench certainly loved it when it happened. They were all fired up,” head coach Mike Sullivan told media after the game. “It’s something that you don’t see that often, so those types of events they’re fun.”
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said Jarry’s goal was “pretty cool to see.”
“It’s cool to be part of that. You see it happen, but I’ve never seen it live and been a part of it, so I’m really happy for him,” Crosby told media after the game.
The Penguins star praised the netminder’s “solid” play in a game that didn’t look good for the visiting team, who got off to a sluggish start and was down two goals at the end of the first period.
“They had the one tip-in there and then another one with some traffic, so he had to battle rebounds and traffic all night,” Crosby said. “So to keep it at two and give us a chance to get our feet under us and get back in it was really important and, you know, he shut the door basically the rest of the way.”
Tristan Jarry, NHL goal scorer. pic.twitter.com/pgz68xG2JI
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 1, 2023
Sullivan said he hopes the team can hold onto the energy on the bench following Jarry’s goal and build on their “gutsy effort” throughout the game.
“There are moments during the course of the year that I think help to galvanize a group; that could be one of them,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to build a team here and, you know, we’ve got a lot of new guys on the team here and we’re trying to come together as a group as quickly as we can, and those types of moments, sometimes they help.”
Jarry is just the 14th goalie in NHL history to score a goal, and only the fourth in the last 10 years, joining the Boston Bruins’ Linus Ullmark (a 3-1 win on Feb. 25, 2023 over the Vancouver Canucks), Pekka Rinne (a 5-2 win for the Nashville Predators against the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 9, 2020) and Mike Smith (a 5-2 win for the Phoenix Coyotes over the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 19, 2013).
While Thursday night’s goal was Jarry’s first in the NHL, it’s not the only goal he’s made from his own crease.
Jarry scored a similar goal while in net for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate) on Nov. 14, 2018 against the Springfield Thunderbirds. That game was also on the road, and Jarry’s goal was also a franchise first.
In light of Jarry’s goal last night, we thought we’d do a #flashbackfriday and revisit this beauty from 2018 😍
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) December 1, 2023
He’s really got a flair for the historic, huh? pic.twitter.com/R2cFJLPFEI
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