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Martin Jones gets another shutout, remains undefeated

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James OBrien

At this point, many people are probably still asking: “Who is Martin Jones?” The most appropriate answer might just be, “The hottest goalie in the NHL.”

The 23-year-old improved his record to 6-0-0 and bagged his third shutout as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. His stat line seems like the work of video game cheat codes; along with that spotless record, Jones has only allowed five goals on 177 shots (good for a .972 save percentage and .82 GAA).

If you want a little more background on Jones, he’s an undrafted goalie who earned a deal with the Kings after a tryout. He had a distinguished WHL career with the Calgary Hitmen and has quietly put up strong numbers with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs. He also won a silver medal backing up Jake Allen with the Canadian World Junior team in 2010.

In other words, it’s understandable if you’ve never heard of him or didn’t expect him to make an NHL impact any time soon, but it’s probably not fair to call him a nobody.

Whatever way you slice it, the Kings are reaping the rewards of unexpectedly strong work from Jones and Ben Scrivens before him. Since Jonathan Quick went down with that groin injury, Los Angeles is a stupefying 12-2-3 in 17 games.

Meanwhile, the Oilers remain one of the many teams that must envy the Kings’ embarrassment of riches in net. They have a four-game winning streak as neither Devan Dubynk nor Ilya Bryzgalov have been able to get them over the hump lately.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins