Point Blank: Alex Nedeljkovic has earned more starts. That's a good thing for Tristan Jarry

Alex Nedeljkovic makes a save on Teuvo Teravainen during the Penguins’ shootout victory over the Hurricanes on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena — Photo via GETTY

If you predicted the Penguins would have one of the top goaltending tandems in the NHL this season, please message me as soon as possible to discuss Saturday’s Powerball numbers.

Penguins goalies have now saved 21.1 goals more than expected following Thursday’s 2-1 shootout victory over the Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena.

Take a second to really wrap your brain around what the team’s record would look like if they’d received average goaltending to this point.

Tristan Jarry has responded to a disappointing, injury-riddled second half of 2022-23 with three shutouts, 12.7 goals saved above expected and a .913 save percentage in 22 appearances. Other goalies around the league are more deserving of way-too-early Vezina Trophy discussion, but he probably deserves to be right on the cusp of that discussion.

And how about Alex Nedeljkovic? He was given the nod for the second game in a row on Thursday, turning in a 23-save performance that boosted his season save percentage to .927. Among all goalies to have appeared in at least five games, that figure ranks fourth — trailing only Adin Hill, Jeremy Swayman and Alex Lyon, each of whom have enjoyed considerably-better skater defense in front of them.

Accounting for the Penguins’ unspectacular defensive work, Nedeljkovic has saved 6.9 goals above expected. That’s superb for only nine appearances. He’s posted a positive goals saved above expected in seven of those appearances (77.8%). Even the two games he didn’t were not what I’d consider stinkers on his part.