San Jose Sharks Newcomers Lead Sharks Past Canucks
Now that’s a way to make an entrance. All offseason, most of the talk surrounding the San Jose Sharks was whether or not newly acquired netminder Martin Jones could step into the full-time role as starting the netminder and continue to produce.
Well, if game two of the preseason is any indication, the Sharks may have found their goaltender of the future.
Jones was rock solid, stopping 30 shots to record his first shutout in teal, as the San Jose Sharks rolled to a 4-0 preseason victory over Vancouver in the second game of back-to-back matchups between the two teams.
Jones was calm, cool and collected between the pipes and shows the kind of presence that former netminder Antti Niemi often lacked. Jones uses his big, 6-foot-4 frame to take away much of the net and he commands his crease with ease. While Niemi was solid and played well during his tenure, Jones is positionally sound and much more structured between the pipes.
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Another newcomer who made his presence known was Paul Martin, who kicked off the scoring in this one with a wrist shot from the point that found its way through traffic. That would be the theme of the night for the San Jose Sharks offensively as they made a concerted effort to make their presence known in front of the Vancouver net.
Martin’s defensive partner, Brent Burns, was his usual disruptive self offensively with a goal and an assist, while Tomas Hertl had a strong game by parking himself in front of whomever was in the Vancouver goal. Hertl added a goal and an assist, and Nikolay Goldobin rifled home the Sharks fourth goal of the night on the power play to give San Jose the 4-0 win.
It was a much better effort from San Jose all-around as they created more offensive chances than last night. While the Sharks were far from flawless in their defensive end, Jones was there to shut down any attack. He seems confident in net and swallows up many of the shots without allowing a rebound, something that couldn’t always be said about Niemi.
Also, it was nice to see the Sharks special teams working on this night as San Jose went 2-for-3 on the power play, while killing off all six Vancouver power plays that featured the Sedin twins in the lineup. Considering the Sharks ranked 25th a season ago in penalty killing, they’ve showed improvement in that area.
I know it’s just the preseason and only two games, but the San Jose Sharks have yet to concede a goal during regulation. San Jose looks more defensively responsible, and when they have allowed openings, their goaltenders have been up to the task.
All-in-all, this was a great way for Jones to come in and make a statement to the organization and his teammates that he’s ready to assume the starting role.
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