The Penguins' goaltending rotation has been a nice hit to start the season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have rotated their starting goaltenders during the first six games of the 2025-26 season.
Head coach Dan Muse gave Arturs Silovs the start on opening night after he outperformed Tristan Jarry in training camp, and Silovs continued that momentum into the regular season, shutting out the New York Rangers on October 7.
Silovs more than earned a second start in a row, but Muse had other ideas. He went to Jarry for the home-opener against the New York Islanders, and the decision paid off since Jarry was outstanding in the third period. He was a bit shaky in the first two periods, but when the game was on the line, he made a lot of ten-bell saves to preserve the win.
The two goalies continued to rotate starts over the next four games, even when Silovs had another good performance against the Los Angeles Kings last Thursday. He was a bit shaky to start, but settled in after the third period. Jarry got the start in San Jose on Saturday and notched his first shutout of the year. He played aggressively and was at the top of the crease, challenging shooters all game.
Muse got asked about the rotation after Monday's practice and what goes into naming a starting netminder for each game, and confirmed it's based on several different factors.
"I think this year, we didn't go in there saying that going into training camp we want to get into a spot where the goalies are to this point what you've seen, switching from game to game," Muse told reporters. "Based on training camp, based on where we felt like both guys, you know, we felt like both guys deserved to be getting the opportunities that they've been given, and so, they've continued to, and we're still taking it, looking at things every day. We're having all those conversations of where guys are at, the past history, all those different things, and then we're making informed decisions based on that."
Each goalie has played three games thus far, and if Muse stays true to the rotation, Silovs would be in line to get the start at home on Tuesday against his former team, the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks traded Silovs to the Penguins in July since they had no room for him at the NHL level. They already had Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen on the roster and wanted to give Silovs a chance to play in the NHL this year.
Silovs got picked by the Canucks in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft and got to play in 10 of their playoff games during the 2023-24 season. He made his AHL and NHL debut before that season, but those playoffs were when fans really got a glimpse of his talent. He played during the end of the first round and started the entire second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, which went to seven games. Despite the Canucks losing that series, Silovs showed that he could rise to the occasion and play well in big moments.
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If he gets the start, it could allow Jarry to play on Thursday against the Florida Panthers, who have won the last two Stanley Cups. The Panthers started the season with three wins in a row but have lost their last four, going into their next game on Tuesday against the Boston Bruins. Jarry and Co. could be getting them at the right time, especially since they're banged up. They won't have star forward Aleksander Barkov for the entire regular season, while fellow star forward Matthew Tkachuk will be out until December or January. They're also without defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Niko Miikola right now.
Jarry has been better at getting off to a better start in his first three starts this year after struggling in that department last year, though it remains to be seen if he can continue that for the whole season.
Until one of these netminders takes the starting spot and runs with it, you're going to see Muse keep running with this rotation. And there's nothing wrong with that.
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