Clifton has been a healthy scratch for the first four games of the season but will replace Matt Grzelcyk (leg) in the lineup on Saturday. The 25-year-old defenseman had just two goals in 31 games a season ago.
Riikola suffered an upper-body injury midway through Tuesday's overtime win over the Capitals and is expected to miss an extended period of time. The Penguins' blueline is in trouble with Riikola, Mike Matheson and Marcus Pettersson all out for at least a couple of weeks.
Jarry surrendered six goals on 25 shots in the Penguins loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday. It was a tough start to the season for the 25-year-old, who the Penguins are entrusting as their No.1 netminder this season. They will go right back to him in a rematch with the Flyers, who he is 4-2-0 with an .885 SV% against in his career.
Matt Murray was traded to the Ottawa Senators this offseason, so Jarry becomes the Penguins' No.1 netminder for 2021 with Casey DeSmith serving as his backup. Jarry was impressive in 33 appearances last season, finishing 20-12-1 and ranking ninth in GAA (2.43) tied for eighth in SV% (.921). He showcased he has what it takes to carry a sizeable workload this season and it will start tonight in Philadelphia. He was 1-1-0 while stopping 54 of 59 shots (.915 SV%) in two starts vs. the Flyers last season but Philadelphia looks like a much deeper team in 2021.
Matt Murray was traded to the Ottawa Senators this offseason, so Jarry becomes the Penguins' No.1 netminder for 2021 with Casey DeSmith serving as his backup. Jarry was impressive in 33 appearances last season, finishing 20-12-1 and ranking ninth in GAA (2.43) tied for eighth in SV% (.921). He showcased he has what it takes to carry a sizeable workload this season and it will start tonight in Philadelphia. He was 1-1-0 while stopping 54 of 59 shots (.915 SV%) in two starts vs. the Flyers last season but Philadelphia looks like a much deeper team in 2021.
In his first two seasons with the Canadiens, Ouellet has appeared in a combined 31 NHL games and 86 AHL games. Most recently, he had nine goals and 15 assists (24 points) in 39 games with Laval (AHL). With the addition of Joel Edmundson, Noah Juulsen back at 100 percent and Alexander Romanov coming over from Russia, Ouellet is pushed down the depth chart.
Aho, 24, spent all of 2020 in the AHL, where he led all Bridgeport defensemen with 30 points (3G / 27A) in 49 games. Aho is undersized (5-11, 177) but he's a terrific puck-mover and is not afraid to jump into the rush to create offence. He is a candidate to graduate to the NHL in 2021 but he's blocked by a bunch of high-paid veteran defensemen on the depth chart.
With Jarry getting re-signed that indicates that RFA Matt Murray may have played his last game with the Penguins. Jarry gets the three-year extension at a very reasonable cap-hit (24th among goalies for 2021) and will likely be backed up by Casey DeSmith next season. We could see a Murray trade on the draft floor on Tuesday or Wednesday. Jarry was 20-12-1 with a 2.43 GAA, .921 SV% and three shutouts in 2020.
