Jarry allowed 3 goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets

And he played an incredible game. He saved .903 of the shots faced. The average shot quality was high — let’s take a look at the 3 goals he allowed.

Goal 1: Marchenko backhand. Marchenko gets the puck on a rush chance, cuts towards the middle in a 3v2 of sorts. He tries to pass and the pass is broken up, but it bounces back to him and Karlsson and Shea mark the same player and Jarry is left to defend a 2v0. Marchenko ends up wide open, as well as having a wide open passing option to Jarry’s right. The backhand goes against the grain to his left — it’s nearly impossible to save. See the image: https://i.imgur.com/JNNAq4R.png

Goal 2: A normal possession, Columbus cycles the puck and finally a wrister from the dot beats Jarry through a screen. Jenner enters the crease with 41.1 seconds remaining in the period. The goal is scored with 31.0 seconds remaining in the period. Jarry never picks up the puck and can be seen trying to poke his head around Jenner for several seconds before the shot comes in. Karlsson and Shea are both in decent position on either side of the net, but neither bothers to clear the screener and Jarry has no chance of seeing a shot or a cross-ice pass. See the image: https://i.imgur.com/EQvO4xk.png . This one is also worth checking out the video to see just how long Jenner stays in front of Jarry and how hard he’s trying to find the puck around Jenner. https://www.nhl.com/video/pit-cbj-chinakhov-scores-goal-against-penguins-6341127409112

Goal 3: Another standard possession, CBJ dump the puck in and both Letang and Graves pursue into the right corner (it’s Graves’ side to defend.) Reilly Smith does rotate to cover their assignments in front of the net, but he’s the only one. He chooses to cover the initial shooter. The shot is a 5-hole attempt on the surface of the ice, saved by Jarry’s pads, but this type of shot will rebound, and Texier is on the other side of the net unchecked while Rakell and Malkin have been drifting at the blueline for an eternity. See the image: https://i.imgur.com/099i4HX.png

In the end, Jarry conceded on a 2v0, an unchecked screen, and a 2v1.

He had a perfect game playing the puck, including having to come 2/3 of the way to the blueline to stop a shorthanded breakaway. He allowed 0 goals on 3 powerplays. He absolutely stole this game saving all 28 shots that aren’t in this post, including lots of absolute rockets from Laine and others from the slot. It’s a nearly perfect game and he conceded 3 goals.

If the offense hadn’t been able to score 4 goals, we’d be hearing from the usual crowd about how Jarry can’t make big saves and should be saving shots.

If you watch a Bruins game, or a Knights game, a Rangers game, an Islanders game, or a Stars game — these types of chances are incredibly rare. Everyone sees their goaltenders as so much more reliable, but really it’s their defensive structure that is not asking their goaltender to be nearly perfect to win a game 5-3.