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First call: Mike Sullivan discusses Tristan Jarry; Zach Frazier thinks he will be “done” after the bye

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First call: Mike Sullivan discusses Tristan Jarry; Zach Frazier thinks he will be “done” after the bye

Thursday’s “First Call” includes a message from Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan to struggling goalie Tristan Jarry. Zach Frazier and Nick Herbig discuss their health. Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith talks the story of how the team decided to bring back Corliss Waitman.

And there were some Pirates ties to the final game of the World Series.

Keeping the faith

The penguins keep working with Joel Blomqvist and Alex Nedeljkovic in goal. That’s because Tristan Jarry is on a conditioning assignment in Wilkes-Barre hoping to get his game is good.

During Wednesday night’s coaching show, head coach Mike Sullivan emphasized that the team has not given up on Jarry, despite his struggles last year and his rough start this season.

“I know the quality of a goalkeeper that he is and what he is capable of. He made the All-Star team twice. That doesn’t just happen,” Sullivan said on 105.9 The X. “A certain achievement takes a long time period to for that will happen. My message it is that we believe in him, And were trying to provide him with a path to recapture his very best play.”

Jarry was 1-1 in three NHL appearances this season. He allowed 12 goals on 73 shots for a save percentage of .836 and a goals-against average of 5.47.

The Penguins’ team goals-against average of 4.27 is the worst in the NHL until now. The Pens have allowed 389 shots against, the most in hockey.

Jarry has won his two games in Wilkes-Barre so far, stopping 59 of 64 shots.

Zach’s coming back?

Zach Frazier characterized himself as “optimistic” about the return to action after the bye this weekend.

“That’s what I’m shooting for,” Frazier said Wednesday when I asked him about the prospect of filing a lawsuit against the Washington Commanders on Nov. 10.

The Steelers rookie center hasn’t played since suffering an ankle injury in a Week 6 win over the Raiders in Las Vegas.

“I am will stay again this week and rehabilitation (in Pittsburgh) and try to get back to Washington. That’s the goal,” Frazier continued. “I’m getting better every day. Continuing with the rehab and trusting it…I think I’m ready.”

Frazier says he is “running well.” Now he says the next step is being able to run at full speed. While he has been gone, the Steelers have used Ryan McCollum at center.

“I think he’s doing a great job. He has Real staged,” Frazier said of McCollum. “He’s been through two Real good D-Lines, and I think he played Real Good.”

During McCollum’s two starts at center, the Steelers have managed 149 yards rushing against the New York Jets and 167 yards against the New York Giants.

Injured outside linebacker Nick Herbig also said he is optimistic about a possible return to action against Washington. He is missed three games in a row due to a hamstring injury.

To cling

One of the unsung heroes of the Steelers’ 6-2 start is punter Corliss Waitman. He was signed as a free agent after Cameron Johnston was lost for the year thanks to a knee injury in Week 1.

Waitman was excellent. The team ranks eighth in the NFL in punt drops inside the 20-yard line, with 15 of them. She are bound for fifth place with 11 forced fair catches.

In terms of from field position, the Steelers entered Monday night’s game against the New York Giants averaging a defensive drive start from the 26.2-yard line. That is second-best in the NFL, and Waitman’s punting has a lot to do with that.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith said it was actually Waitman’s holding skills That won him the job in a competition of available gamblers to replace Johnston.

Smith said that because the Steelers previously had Waitman as a practice squad playerthey knew he could hold his ground for kicker Chris Boswell.

‘There’s a familiarity. Of the kicker we havethe company is very important,” said Smith. “We know how to develop a holder, and we had developed it before. He felt comfortable with that and was invited again. He’s a real pro, and he won that match when we had all those gamblers. He can punt well.”

Whatever Waitman does while holding the ball is working. Boswell is 39-40 on placekicks this year.

Pirate ties

The World Series is over and the Dodgers won 4-1. They defeated the New Yankees 7-6 on Wednesday night in Game 5. There was a former Pirate flavor on the mound.

Ex-Bucco All-Star Gerrit Cole started on the mound for the Yankees. He was relieved by Clay Holmes, and former Pirates draft pick Walker Buehler closed the game for the Dodgers.

Cole received a no-decision. The Yankees took a 5-0 lead thanks to three bad plays in the fifth. Aaron Judge dropped a fly ball. Anthony Volpe made a throwing error. Then, Cole had a miscommunication with Anthony Rizzo at first base, allowing Mookie Betts to reach on an infield single.

Gavin Lux and Betts both hit sacrifice flies to give the Dodgers a 7-6 lead in the top of the eighth inning. Then Buehler got the save.

Cole ended up throwing 6 ⅔ innings. He gave up five runs. None of them were earned.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless otherwise stated.