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No more chicken wings and pizza for Tristan Jarry.
The Penguins netminder, who has shouldered an enormous workload since Matt Murray was recalled to Pittsburgh on Feb. 27, said the increased time in net has forced him to not only focus harder in practice, but change the way he takes care of himself off the ice.
And it begins with diet and rest.
“You have to learn to manage your body,” Jarry said after Monday’s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex. “When you’re a little bit younger you can eat whatever you want. You can have chicken wings and pizza with the guys. This year it had to change. The better you eat it makes you feel a lot better.”
Since Feb. 27, Jarry has started all but two of the Penguins 16 games. Sunday’s 5-3 loss to Portland marked his 10th straight start, and Jarry said he’s enjoying the heavy workload.
“It’s nice to know that you play each game and if you have an off-game they’re going to go back to you the next day,” he said. “With Matt going up it gave me the chance to play most of the games. I’m very thankful for that. It’s something that not everyone gets to experience in their first year.”
While Jarry is happy to start every game, he’s posted a 5-5 record in his last 10 starts and was pulled early for the first time this season after giving up four goals on 17 shots against Bridgeport on Saturday.
But as important as diet and rest are for Jarry off the ice, having a short memory is just as valuable.
“That game (on Saturday) I had maybe one or two goals I wanted back,” he said. “But the next game you go in with a fresh mind and not worry about what happened the day before.”
With the Penguins set to play three games in three days this weekend, head coach Clark Donatelli will likely have no choice but to give Jarry a night off. Backup Brian Foster, who has a 3.58 goals against average and a .855 save percentage, will likely get the nod in one of the games. Foster spent most of March in Wheeling, posting a 2.16 GAA and a .920 save percentage, and those numbers may make Donatelli more comfortable about giving him a start, and allowing Jarry to take a break.
“(Foster’s) been looking good,” Donatelli said. “He went down and played some games in Wheeling for a reason, and he played really well.”
In the meantime, Jarry will continue to eat, sleep and practice as if the heavy workload will continue into the playoffs.
“You keep a mindset that your never tired,” Jarry said. “Even if you are tired after the weekend’s games, you come (to practice) on Monday or Tuesday knowing you have stuff to improve on for next weekend.”
NOTES
– Carter Rowney, who missed Sunday’s game due to a late scratch, didn’t practice on Monday due to an upper body injury. Donatelli said Rowney’s status is still day-to-day, but he’ll be ready to go for the weekend.
