Martin Jones’ stellar play seems to have been lost in the whole “Sharks losing back-to-back games in their first Stanley Cup Final” thing. As such, let’s call attention to Jones, whose excellent play ought to give hope that San Jose can turn this thing around.
Through two games Jones’ .9167 even-strength save percentage is actually below what he’s posted throughout the postseason. He has a .9342 during the playoffs, but his saves against a bevy of Pittsburgh shots have given the Sharks a chance to win in each of the first two games.
So yeah, the Sharks lost both of those games, but take a look at how Jones ranks against other goaltenders this postseason in even strength save percentage. The chart below, from war-on-ice.com, shows all goaltenders with at least 200 minutes of even-strength time on ice.
Jones and Matthew Murray are those two nearly overlapping circles near the top right of the graph. GIven the dark red color of the circles you can see both goalies have faced relatively few shots compared to the competition. That has changed for Jones against Pittsburgh — for Murray? Well, not so much.
If you look at both goalies’ save percentages at all strengths, the picture changes a little. Jones posted a save percentage of .9268 while Murray notched a save percentage of .9259 through two games. The Penguins’ not-so-powerful power play helps Jones’ case while Murray’s faced almost exclusively even-strength shots, so…right. It’s kind of a wash there.
Looking over the whole of the postseason, Jones’ save percentage at all strengths is .9192 while Murray holds a .9247 mark. Neither are in the top five (Jones is ninth and Murray sixth) unless you limit to goalies with double digit games played (that moves Murray to third and Jones to sixth).
All that being said, while the trade to acquire Martin Jones started as something of a gamble, he’s shown over the course of the season and postseason to be well worth the price paid. Skepticism on Jones is still fair, after all we’re only 85 games into his San Jose tenure, but given what he’s shown so far it looks like the Sharks have their goalie of the future.
Despite the dour start to the series, there’s good news to be had. So now how about Jones posts four-straight shutouts to set some NHL records? Maybe? It’s just a thought.
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