Martin Jones can’t have a repeat of Round 1.
The San Jose Sharks could certainly use a few snippets from that seven-game series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Jones allowed just five goals across Games 1, 5 and 6, including a 58-save performance in the penultimate game that ended in double overtime.
It’s Games 2 thru 4 that Jones and the Sharks can’t afford. Going from 1-0 up in a series to 3-1 down. Being the scapegoat for your team’s misfortunes. That sort of thing.
It’s safe to say Jones wore a lot of hats in Round 1.
Getting pulled twice in a playoff series and allow six goals in another game where you weren’t given a mercy tug probably should have ended exactly how you might think -- crashing out of the playoffs because bad goaltending doesn’t win championships.
Instead, Jones was able to rally, composing himself after getting benched in Game 4. San Jose did eventually win the series in controversial fashion, and Jones in Game 7 still wasn’t all that great (four goals allowed on 38 shots) despite getting the ‘W’ in an insane 5-4 overtime thriller. But he was able to pull himself back from the dead in Games 5 and 6 to put San Jose in a position to win, and that stroke of luck San Jose got in Game 7 was enough to
Jeykll and Hyde are thrown around too often in sports, but truly, it was Jones’ series to a T.
Games 2-4
• Record: 0-2 (pulled twice with one no-decision)
• .796 save percentage
• 7.62 goals-against average
Games 5-7
• Record: 3-0
• .946 save percentage
• 1.83 goals-against average
Jones is certainly going to have his hands full. The Avalanche put up an NHL high 41 shots per game in Round 1 and were fourth in goals per game at 3.40. Conversely, San Jose gave up the third-most number of shots per game, so the rubber is coming whether Jones likes it or not.
Jones’ five-on-five save percentage was a .924 in the Vegas series. To put that in perspective, it was good for ninth best among goalies in the round. Philipp Grubauer, who Jones will duel in the series, held a .964 save percentage in 5v5 situations -- best in the league.
It should be noted that Jones’ expected save percentage was much worse at .913.
Jones’ goals-save above average also got a nice boost from being much worse after Game 6. Grubauer was the best in the category in Round 1, saving 4.74 more goals than what was expected when compared to the average.
And it should be noted that Jones will be facing one of the best lines in hockey in Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. Jones had his hands full with Mark Stone and Co. against Vegas and there will be no let up in this series.
Colorado walked all over the Calgary Flames, who got slightly better goaltending in that series.
Then there are the tangibles that can’t be calculated on a spreadsheet. Getting pulled twice in three games doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Letting in bad goals is deflating. That said, the Sharks were able to rally around massive bounceback efforts in Games 5 and 6, particularly.
If the Sharks go on to win the Cup, no one will be talking much about Jones’ first-round performance. But given that San Jose is still a long way from that, and they’re getting ready to face one of the - if not the -- best line in the NHL, it’s rather timely.
The deeper the Sharks go, the harder the going gets. Jones simply needs to be at the top of his game.
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck