Jones making a namefor himself in playoffs
Martin Jones is known around these parts, but only now is the rest of the hockey world starting to take notice.
Sharks defenseman Brent Burns played along.
With Jones quietly supplying the backbone of an impressive Stanley Cup playoff run, San Jose has an opportunity to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals when the best-of-seven series resumes Thursday at SAP Center.
The 26-year-old Jones was handed the keys following an offseason trade with Boston a week after the Kings dealt the goalie to the Bruins, and he’s been driving the bus ever since.
After allowing a goal on the first shot he faced on opening night, Jones didn’t let another slip past until a franchise-record 234:33 of playing time had elapsed.
Speaking of zeros, Jones has two shutouts in his past three postseason starts.
“There’s a trust with our goaltender that he’s going to make big saves,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.
Jones came under scrutiny after allowing what most considered a bad goal to decide the series opener in St. Louis on Sunday.
Blues center Jori Lehtera picked off Burns’ pass at center, skated to the top of the left circle and beat Jones on the far side with an unscreened slap shot.
Most viewed the tie-breaking and final goal of the game at 9:15 of the second period as one that needed to be stopped.
Jones made 26 saves five nights after pitching a 20-save shutout in San Jose’s Game 7 win over Nashville.
With 67 saves in 69 chances over three games, Jones is only the second Sharks goalie to record multiple shutouts in one playoff season (Evgeni Nabokov had three in 2003).
Coaches and teammates credit Jones’ even-keel nature for being able to rebound from adversity.
Yeah, maybe his experience shows he hasn’t played too many games, but as teammates and players we certainly cannot tell that.
“Everyone’s confidence level in both of our goalies is very high, and they’ve earned that,” added DeBoer, including James Reimer in the mix even though Jones has played all 14 postseason games.
Jones & Co. are well aware the Blues were not happy with their Game 2 performance and have shown a penchant for playing better on the road this postseason than at home.
Conversely, the Sharks have won five straight on home ice after dropping Game 3 in overtime of their opening-round series win over Los Angeles.
“We have the confidence we can beat this team,” Sharks forward and playoff leading scorer Logan Couture added.
The center leads the NHL in playoff scoring with a franchise playoff record 19 points.
Couture has two points (both assists) against St. Louis after scoring five goals and 11 points — another club record — in Round 2.
Burns posted a second two-goal effort this spring in Game 2 against the Blues, and joins Denis Potvin as only the second blue-liner to have two multi-goal playoff games on the road in one season.
The right wing has at least one point in 10 of San Jose’s 14 playoff games, and shares the NHL lead with nine goals — tied for most in one postseason by a Sharks’ skater.