Martin Jones’ shutout makes history

Martin Jones posted his 15th career shutout on Monday night, blanking the New Jersey Devils as San Jose snapped its three-game losing streak. It was his eighth shutout since joining the Sharks and his second of the season as his save percentage rose to .913.

That shutout made history, as Jones posted his 15th shutout in just 116 games. That makes him the quickest active goalie to 15 shutouts in the NHL — not too shabby for a guy who got his first chance at starting a season ago.

I wrote about Jones’ struggles to start the season, but it seems like those days may be behind him as the netminder put together another excellent performance on Monday. Yes, the Sharks dominated the Devils in shots on goal but Jones made a few key saves to keep New Jersey off the board.

His even strength save percentage (.909) isn’t going to blow anyone away, but if Jones really is on the upswing it couldn’t come at a better time. With Tomas Hertl out long term and Melker Karlsson still dealing with a nagging injury, the Sharks need all the help the can get. San Jose hosts Chicago on Wednesday, and while the Blackhawks are not a great team they have very good goaltending.

Jones moves into a tie with Vesa Toskala and Arturs Irbe with his eighth shutout. He did it in 11 fewer games than Toskala and 21 fewer than Irbe. Jones needs another 17 to catch up with Antti Niemi and a whopping 42 to catch up with Evgeni Nabokov, who leads the franchise with 50 shutouts.

His save percentage (.916) currently sits only behind Niemi (.917) among goaltenders with at least 40 games played. That figures, since save percentages have risen over the past decade or so, but Jones has been a great addition to this team.