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Without Jones or Martin, Sharks can’t contain Isles

Sharks lslanders Hockey

New York Islanders left wing Josh Bailey (12) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

AP

Who knows if San Jose would have won tonight with defenseman Paul Martin and goaltender Martin Jones in the game. What we can say is that the Sharks are now 4-0 with them and 0-1 when they don’t play.

Although San Jose took three one-goal leads over the course of the game, New York blew the contest open in the third period en route to a 6-3 victory.

Martin has been Brent Burns’ defensive partner this season, but the 34-year-old blueliner wasn’t available tonight due to a lower-body injury. That led to Brenden Dillon playing alongside Burns instead and the two finished the game with a minus-two and minus-three rating respectively.

That change was particularly noteworthy during the turning point of tonight’s contest as Islanders forward Josh Bailey created a turnover off of Burns’ attempted pass and fed the puck to Kyle Okposo, who then beat Dillon one-on-one before besting goalie Alex Stalock up close:

Stalock finished with 28 saves on 33 shots. Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee, Bailey, and Brock Nelson were the other Islanders to get the puck past him while Frans Nielsen collected the empty-netter.

Jones has a 0.49 GAA and .982 save percentage this season, but he had already played on Friday. After tonight’s contest, he’ll likely be called upon to start against the New York Rangers on Monday.