San Jose Sharks: Martin Jones Needs More Support From Offense

Some days it’s tough being a San Jose Sharks fan. This is one of those days.

Last night, the Sharks failed to capitalize against a sub par Columbus Blue Jackets team. It was a terribly ironic conclusion to throwback night.

Despite the team’s inconsistency during the second half of October, there are still plenty of bright spots in their play. My personal favorite is the goaltending of Martin Jones.

Right off the bat, Jones set a franchise record by shutting out the opposition for a continuous 234 minutes and 33 seconds. He was doing everything right and the team was generating the necessary offense to win games.

Since then, the offense has faltered and the team has come to rely on the goaltending of Jones far too often. Consequently, his numbers have slightly dipped (2.16 GAA, .923 SV%) and the team has failed to generate consecutive wins. The latter is much more concerning.

It’s important to note that Jones’ game has not dipped nearly as much as his numbers might indicate. His numbers were bound to decrease after a nearly flawless start to his career in teal.

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In fact, there have been several instances, last night included, where Jones came up with some brilliant saves to keep the Sharks in a game that would otherwise be out of reach.

Too often, the blame is quickly passed onto the goaltender, but the reality is, you can’t win games if you just aren’t scoring.

This isn’t to say Jones hasn’t allowed some weak goals. He has. He’s only human. But I still believe Jones has the potential to enjoy a lengthy career in the NHL as an excellent goaltender.

The bottom line is he can’t accomplish this alone. The Sharks offense (perhaps more specifically, the bottom two lines) needs to step up. They need to eliminate sloppy turnovers, capitalize on power play opportunities, and offer more support to their last and most important line of defense: Martin Jones.

It would be nice if they could allow Jones to play with a lead, as the Sharks have allowed their opponents to score the first goal in four straight games. With a somewhat faltering offense, you can’t keep playing from behind.

Jones can only reach his full potential when every component of this Sharks team is working together. Luckily, there are 70 games left this season and plenty of time for the team to get their act together for the long haul.

Next: Sharks News & Notes: Barclay Goodrow Reassigned

San Jose’s next chance to start a win streak comes Thursday against the Florida Panthers at SAP Center. Let’s see if the San Jose forwards can start generating some more breathing room for Jones to work with.