SUNRISE, Fla. — Before Ryan Poehling smartly chipped the puck along the boards to diffuse a Panthers power-play chance, Kris Letang was off to the races. From behind his own blue line, the Penguins defenseman read the play perfectly and quickly shifted into top gear, as Bryan Rust gathered the puck and led the two-on-one rush.
The sequence featured a terrific pass from Rust but an equally excellent finish from Letang, who went up high in the second period of Thursday’s 4-2 victory at FLA Live Arena to beat Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for his second goal of the season and first in three games back since suffering another stroke.
If there’s some sort of manual or assumed reality for returning from such a serious medical issue, Letang, like he has throughout his career, doesn’t really live in that space. He’s far more interested in doing what he did on his goal — outskating the crowd and defying expectations.
“Especially the first game, me and [assistant coach] Todd [Reirden] were talking just to see how I feel,” Letang said. “Once we settle into games and practices, your conditioning goes up. I can go back to the minutes I play.”
Here’s guessing that conversation was a short one because it assuredly did not involve any sort of tempered expectations or desire from Letang to slow it down or proceed with caution.
Letang played a team-high 25:44 on Thursday and attempted four shots, putting three on goal. He added a hit and a blocked shot while playing in all three phases — penalty kill, power play and five-on-five. It’s about the same minutes Letang played in his previous two games, the 17th-year pro averaging 25:55 of ice time compared with 23:54 in his first 21 games of the season.
In three games since suffering a second stroke, Letang has averaged 25:11 while registering 13 hits and seven blocked shots to go along with his goal, an assist and plus-1 rating.
Against the Panthers, it wasn’t just quantity, either. Letang was on the ice for a 65.7% shot share during five-on-five play, and the Penguins held an expected goals percentage of 85.8% with him on the ice, Pittsburgh also accounting for 13 of the 18 scoring chances that transpired.
In other words, Letang has appeared no worse for wear since enduring what would to the normal public be considered a fairly major medical event, one that certainly frightened Penguins fans and Letang’s teammates all the same.
“He’s picked up where he left off,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think he’s been pretty solid. He’s keeping the game simple. He just has the ability to log so many minutes night in and night out. It’s such an important aspect of his game, of our game. We rely on him in so many situations. Since he’s been back, the simplicity in his game has been really effective.”
The same as it’s ever been for Letang, simplicity isn’t always his calling card. It’s his creativity and skating that set him apart. On some nights, those things aren’t as evident, and Letang is occasionally burned by his gambles.
On others, such as what we saw Thursday, he’s downright spectacular, his athleticism and conditioning affording him some impressive jumps that pay off in moments like the shorthanded tally he recorded.
The goal was the fifth shorthanded marker of Letang’s career, more than all active defensemen aside from Toronto’s Mark Giordano (13). It was also the latest bit of evidence that little can or will distract Letang from chasing down another Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh.
“He’s moving the puck,” Sullivan continued. “He’s not trying to do too much. He’s getting involved in the offense. I thought he made a great play jumping into the rush there on the penalty kill when he scored. He just helps us in so many ways, but I think he’s been really solid.”
Tristan Jarry sat at his locker stall on Nov. 12 at Montreal’s Bell Centre and fumed over five goals allowed in an overtime loss to the Canadiens that night. Through nine games, Jarry had lost five times while posting a .900 save percentage and 3.56 goals-against average — numbers atypical for him and potentially attributable to an injury he felt hindered his play.
It’s been a drastically different story since that game.
In his past 11 starts, Jarry has gotten his groove back by going 10-0-1 with a .941 save percentage and 1.89 goals-against average. Against Florida, Jarry was at his athletic best, making 18 stops during a busy second period that let the Penguins eclipse an early deficit and grab the lead entering the final frame.
Many of his stops were highlight-reel quality, as Jarry continued to do what he’s done so well during this recent surge by thwarting high-danger chances.
After posting a .761 high-danger save percentage through Nov. 12, Jarry has seen that number improve to .864 during his current run, which ranks 15th among the 41 NHL goalies with at least 220 minutes played during that time.
Even when factoring in the Montreal loss, Jarry has helped the Penguins earn points in his past 12 starts, a streak eclipsed just four times throughout Penguins history and not since 2010-11.
Since Nov. 17, Jarry has an NHL-best 10 wins. Only two have fared better when it comes to save percentage and goals-against average.
“He’s a real good goalie,” Sullivan said. “We’ve always believed that. He’s capable of playing at a real high level. I think he’s playing at a high level right now. That’s what he’s capable of. He’s been consistent, as well. Looking at him since the start of training camp, his game has been building.”
It has taken some work for Jarry to get to this point, but his exemplary play serves as the latest example of why he should be ticketed for a big-money extension next offseason, if not before.
After a slow start, Jarry has performed like a franchise goalie — and one of the best in the entire NHL.
“We all know he’s really good,” Letang said. “He’s gonna win some games for us. Not surprised.”
Asked after the game if he’s playing the best hockey of his career, Jarry, a two-time All-Star, had little interest in contextualizing his current run. He’s simply trying to make as many saves as possible and give his team a chance to win.
But as the Penguins stretched their winning streak to seven, Jarry’s play in the second period of a high-event game — during which his 10-bell stop on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov turned out to be a catalyst — offered the latest chapter in his resurgence.
“I’m just trying to make as many saves as possible,” said Jarry, who stopped 32 of 34 Florida shots. “I think that helps give the team a chance. No matter how we start or how the team comes out, I want to come out the same way: focused and prepared.”
