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First phase of $45K parking study approved by Wilkes-Barre council

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Tristan Jarry hasn&#8217;t played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins since Oct. 28, having spent the last three months with Pittsburgh.</p><p>Despite the long absence, Jarry said nothing has changed with his return to the AHL club.</p><p>&#8220;I have the same mindset I had when I was in Pittsburgh. Every day I want to improve and get better. This is a new opportunity for me to develop my game,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Jarry was reassigned by Pittsburgh on Wednesday and practiced with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday, manning the ice with Anthony Peters in the other net. He had a strong showing with Pittsburgh, posting a 9-4-2 record with a 2.44 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. But Jarry&#8217;s run as Pittsburgh&#8217;s starter was halted by the strong play of Casey DeSmith, who has allowed four goals in three consecutive starts for the NHL club.</p><p>DeSmith&#8217;s strong play coupled with the return of Matt Murray meant there was no reason for Pittsburgh to keep three goaltenders, much less leave Jarry sitting and watching.</p><p>It was clear that Pittsburgh wanted Jarry to keep playing, and for now, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the best place to achieve that.</p><p>Head coach Clark Donatelli said Jarry will start both of the team&#8217;s games this weekend.</p><p>&#8220;When he&#8217;s down here we want to get him in there and make sure he&#8217;s getting his reps,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;The plan is for him to get as many games as he can down here.&#8221;</p><p>That sounds good to Jarry, who has only played in five games &#8212; all in October &#8212; for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He got off to a rough start, allowing 12 goals in his first three games before giving up two goals in each of the last two contests.</p><p>And despite playing well in Pittsburgh, Jarry had no issue with head coach Mike Sullivan&#8217;s decision to stick with the hot hand in net, which is DeSmith for now.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a great way to go about it,&#8221; Jarry said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a very tight race there from first to the wild card spot. If a goalie is playing well, give him a chance again.&#8221;</p><p>Jarry pledged that he will use the time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s net to stay focused and assured that, if Pittsburgh calls again, he&#8217;ll be ready.</p><p>Donatelli said Jarry can play himself back into Sullivan&#8217;s &#8220;hot hand&#8221; approach by playing well in the AHL.</p><p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t want our young goalies sitting around not getting games,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;He might as well come down here so when he does get that call he&#8217;s sharp.&#8221;</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>&#8226; Tom Kostopoulos continued to practice in full and is still a possibility to return this weekend, Donatelli said. Tom Sestito did some brief skating on his own before practice but is still week-to-week, as are Lukas Bengtsson and Michael Leighton.</p><p>&#8226; Daniel Sprong will be the Penguins&#8217; lone representative at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic on Jan. 28-29. When asked which category he thinks would be the best fit for Sprong&#8217;s abilities, Donatelli didn&#8217;t hesitate.</p><p>&#8220;The shot. Both of them. The accuracy and hardest shot,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry will get games in with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this weekend while Pittsburgh hits the All-Star break. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_Jarry.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry will get games in with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this weekend while Pittsburgh hits the All-Star break. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Back with WBS Pens, Jarry to see heavy workload in net