Bold proclamation: the San Jose Sharks don’t really miss Antti Niemi right now.
Martin Jones continued to wow in his still-very-young run as the Sharks’ No. 1 goalie, essentially accomplishing everything except extending his shutout streak to three games.
The New Jersey Devils finally converted on a power-play goal (via Adam Henrique) after failing multiple times, and they did so with less than four minutes remaining in the third.
That was all they could get by red-hot Jones, however, as the Sharks snagged a 2-1 shootout win.
Jones broke Alex Stalock’s franchise-record shutout streak by a comfortable margin.
Jones' shutout streak ends at 234:33 as Severson's shot from the blue line is tipped by Henrique. It's 1-1, now with 3:15 left in 3rd.
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) October 17, 2015
(Stalock’s mark was 178:55, according to CSNBayArea.com.)
Debbie Downer moment
If Stalock previously owning the record isn’t enough of a reminder, it’s best to realize that this is still a very small sample size.
Jones wasn’t exactly throwing a wet blanket on a lethal offensive attack, either:
Yeah.
Hey, that’s not the Sharks’ problem, though. Instead, it’s a promising start for the team, especially considering the fact that three of their four wins are on the road. These early standings points can really come in handy if/when Jones and San Jose cools down.
Via Elias: @SanJoseSharks (2 GA) are 1st team to allow 2 GA or less through 1st 4 games of a season since DET in 1948-49 (also 2 GA in 4 GP)
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 17, 2015
There’s also the possibility that this team found itself a true gem in net, of course.
(Mutes sad groans from Los Angeles.)