Martin Jones Is The San Jose Sharks Key To Winning The Stanley Cup

Martin Jones has shown during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs that the San Jose Sharks’ quest of winning a Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history heavily relies on his play in net.

During the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, San Jose Sharks fans have seen the best and the worst of Martin Jones. It has been a recurring theme from the beginning of the playoffs that when Jones plays well in net, so does the rest of the team in front of him which leads to success.

So far during this years playoffs, when the Sharks have won Martin Jones has posted a stellar 2.20 goals against average along with a save percentage of .940. When the Sharks have lost, Jones is registering a goals against average of 3.50 followed by a .835 save percentage.

That is a major difference in his stat line when the Sharks either win or lose and that comes as no coincidence.

In the Sharks’ first round series with the Golden Knights, Sharks fans saw Martin Jones get pulled from Game 2 after allowing three goals on just seven shots in the first period but then four games later, saw him produce one of the greatest performances by a goaltender in franchise history.

The playoffs started off well for Jones and the Sharks when they beat Vegas in Game 1 at SAP Center by a score of 5-2. Jones stopped 24 of the 26 shots that he faced that night to give the Sharks a 1-0 series lead.

The following three games in the series were the total opposite for Jones as he was pulled from two of the three games. This put San Jose in a 3-1 series hole leaving many fans frustrated with Team Teal.

Jones followed up his cold three game stretch with a very solid outing facing elimination in Game 5 where he made some huge saves while turning away 30 of the 32 shots he faced en route to a 5-2 Sharks victory. His biggest save of the night came on a 2-on-1 where Jones robbed Reilly Smith to keep the Sharks ahead by one late in the game.

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Martin Jones’ best game of the playoffs thus far came on April 22nd when the San Jose Sharks were facing elimination yet again in Las Vegas for Game 6. Jones set both the Sharks franchise record for most saves in a game and most saves in a playoff game with a remarkable 58 saves. He moved past Jeff Hackett who had a 57 save game during the 1992 regular season and Wade Flaherty’s previous postseason record-holding 56 save performance in the 1995 playoffs. The 29-year-old goaltender saved 58 of the 59 shots that he faced giving him an outstanding .983 save percentage in the game as the Sharks forced a Game 7 off Tomas Hertl’s double overtime goal.

In a wild Game 7 that will be remembered by San Jose Sharks fans for years to come, Jones turned away 34 of the 38 shots that Vegas fired at him to help the Sharks advance to the second round. Throughout Game 7, Jones made several highlight reel saves including a spectacular glove save off Mark Stone in the closing minutes of the third period that earned him the Save of the Night along with a standing ovation from the San Jose crowd.

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Martin Jones continued his hot streak in net in Game 1 against Colorado where he made some huge saves to keep San Jose in the game while withstanding an opening push by the Avalanche to start the series. Jones turned away 26 of the 28 shots that he faced to help lift the Sharks to a 5-2 series opening victory.

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Game 2 saw Jones have another strong performance in a losing effort where he stopped 28 of 31 shots that he was up against.

Since falling down 3-1 in the series to Vegas, Jones has been sensational and will need to continue his strong play in goal as the San Jose Sharks continue to push through the playoffs.

A stat that San Jose has kept up all season that shows how important Jones’ play in net has been for Team Teal is that the Sharks are 36-0 when their goaltenders give up two goals or fewer making them the only team in the NHL with this feat.

Martin Jones will continue to play a crucial role towards the Sharks success for the remainder of the playoffs as Team Teal looks to bring a cup to Northern California for the first time in franchise history.