It Sure Isn’t Looking Good for Tristan Jarry in Edmonton
The truth is that I thought the Edmonton Oilers should've kept Stuart Skinner. But that doesn't mean I'm not rooting for Tristan Jarry. Still, you almost feel for the guy. The Oilers had high hopes after the Olympic break — a little reset, a chance to shake off a rough streak, maybe get back to being the team that went to back-to-back Cup Finals. Instead, last night was the kind of game that makes you wince for the netminder.
The Oilers gave Jarry every chance to win. He couldn't.
Jarry got the start against Anaheim, and it should have been a confidence-builder. The Oilers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, looking sharp and alive. But hockey being hockey, the Ducks kept coming, tying it, falling behind again, tying it again — a seesaw that eventually ended 6-5 in Anaheim’s favour.
And Jarry was in the middle of it all. Five goals on just 24 shots. A few of them were soft ones, the kind a number-one goalie needs to stop. When Beckett Sennecke tied it for the third time, head coach Kris Knoblauch did something unusual; he yanked Jarry in a tie game with under ten minutes left and turned to Connor Ingram.
You can understand the frustration — the Oilers had every chance to win, and they couldn’t. But that decision? It’s brutal on a goalie’s psyche. Confidence is fragile, and in Jarry’s case, it’s already shaken. Pulling him in mid-game against a direct competitor in the standings sends a very public signal: we don’t trust you right now.
Ingram gave up the game-winner with less than two minutes left.
Ingram did what he could, but he was coming in cold and still gave up the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining. It’s not fair to him either, but it highlights the pressure this team is under.
Here’s the bigger picture: the Oilers need wins. They need consistency. And they need their goalie to feel like the backbone of the team. In some ways, he doesn’t need to feel as if he’s walking on thin ice every time he steps in. Right now, that’s not the case for Jarry. It’s on the coaching staff to fix that. They need to stabilize the situation, rebuild trust, and get their netminder back to feeling like he belongs.
Jarry is going through a really rough spot in his career.
For Jarry, this is a rough patch — maybe one of the toughest in his career. You want to root for him, you really do. But the stakes are high, the season’s winding down, and Edmonton can’t afford mistakes like this if they hope to make the postseason.
The takeaway? Jarry’s struggling. The Oilers are struggling. And unless something changes fast, both are going to feel the consequences in the standings.