Mike Babcock framed it as a reward. Speaking before the Edmonton Oilers‘ season opener against Vancouver, the new head coach said Tristan Jarry had earned the start through his offseason work and his preseason form. One game later, that looked like a rather questionable decision.
Jarry allowed six goals on 23 shots as Edmonton lost 6-5 in overtime at Rogers Place, finishing with a .739 save percentage. The underlying numbers were arguably worse than the raw ones. He posted a minus-3.51 in goals saved above expected, meaning that based on the quality of chances he faced he should have conceded two or three at most.
The damage came quickly in the third period, when Vancouver scored three times in four minutes and 10 seconds through Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Max Sasson and Elias Pettersson.
Tristan Jarry slammed
Oilers supporters didn’t take long to reach a verdict.
“He is absolutely brutal. Hasn’t played a good game in Edmonton,” one wrote.
“No way Babcock gives him another start,” another added, while a third went further still: “Tristan Jarry is the worst goalie to ever put on an Oilers jersey.”
Others went the sarcastic route. “Tristan Jarry was absolutely unbelievable in the Oilers season opener,” one account posted, before listing the six goals, the .739 save percentage and the loss. “Vezina Trophy incoming.”
The most pointed reaction referenced the man Edmonton gave up to get him. “I’d rather have Stu, just saying, and that’s saying a lot,” one fan wrote.
Why did the Oilers trade Stuart Skinner?
That trade is the heart of the problem. Edmonton had grown frustrated with Stuart Skinner‘s inconsistency and sent him to Pittsburgh last December in the multi-player deal that brought Jarry the other way. The idea was stability. What followed was 19 games of a 3.86 goals-against average and an .857 save percentage, a stretch in which Jarry was pulled repeatedly, including twice in three games in February. His only playoff appearance for the club ended with four goals allowed on eight shots.
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Edmonton did try to address it over the summer, signing Frederik Andersen in free agency, but he picked up an injury while training and has missed all of camp and the start of the season. That has left Jarry and Devon Levi competing for the job by default.
There was plenty to like elsewhere. Evan Bouchard put up five points and leads all NHL defensemen in scoring after one night, which is where he finished last season. It simply wasn’t enough to cover for what happened behind him.
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