Martin Jones was pulled midway through the second period. He was put back into the crease to begin the third period. Seems like a strange decision from L.A. Kings head coach Darryl Sutter.
Jones was initially pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots, as the typically low-scoring New Jersey Devils - 28th in the league in goals-for per game - opened up a 3-1 lead. In came Jonathan Quick. He gave up two goals on seven shots. So, back in came Jones to start and finish the third period, as the Kings lost to the Devils by a final score of 5-3.
“We played Marty again because he’s coming off the shutout and he was really solid, and our thought was to get Jonathan those days, which was what we did. We pulled Jonesy because it changed the momentum,” said Sutter, as per LA Kings Insider.
“There were three goals in a minute, and then they scored two again before the period was out. It surely didn’t change the momentum, so you might as well put him back in. It’s not that hard to figure out.”