Martin Jones keeping Sharks afloat in Cup final
Unheralded netminder has San Jose heading back home for Game 6
The big names finally decided to check in for the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup final.
Brent Burns opened the scoring. Logan Couture produced a goal and two assists. Joe Pavelski got off the schneid with an empty netter for his playoff-leading 14th goal.
But even with all those positive developments in the 4-2 victory to spoil the celebratory mood in Pittsburgh on Thursday, the main reason the Sharks forced a Game 6 back home on Sunday was because of the determined play from goalie Martin Jones.
The unheralded 26-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., made a career-playoff high 44 saves and was particularly good with 17 stops in the second period with the Penguins pressing.
"We needed some big-name performances from guys," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "Jonesy was one of those guys in a tough environment.
"We found a way to stay alive and bring it back to San Jose."
Jones has a history of finding a way to stay alive. As a youth, he played on the powerful North Shore Winter Club behind players like Kyle Turris, Drayson Bowman and Stefan Elliott. This team collected many championships, like the Quebec City Peewee tournament and a bantam provincial championship.
Jones moved on to play junior in the Western Hockey League for the Calgary Hitmen. But in his draft year, he was a backup to Daniel Spence in Calgary and Jones had yet to grow into his 6-foot-4 frame.
Nevertheless, Jones was invited to the Los Angeles Kings rookie camp in 2008 and main training camp a few months later. Before Marc Crawford departed the Kings earlier that summer as the team's head coach, he recommended that Los Angeles take a look at Jones.
Crawford was familiar with the kid because his son Dylan played with Jones on those North Shore Winter Club teams. His father Harvey also is the Vancouver Canucks longtime vice-president of arena operations and this afforded Jones an opportunity to hang around the NHL team when Crawford coached there, too.
Jones impressed and was signed to an entry-level contract after the Kings training camp. He returned to the Hitmen, won 111 combined regular season and playoff games and steered Calgary to back-to-back appearances in the Ed Chynoweth Cup, losing to the Kelowna Rockets in 2009, but beating the Tri-City Americans in 2010.
Quick understudy
Four years ago, Jones was one of the black aces on the Kings, when they took care of DeBoer and his New Jersey Devils in six games in the Stanley Cup final. Jones had a better seat as Jonathan Quick's backup when they won again in 2014.
"Yeah, I watched him compete, how he kind of elevated his game in the playoffs," Jones said, when asked about Quick's influence. "That's something you try to emulate."
A little more than a year ago, DeBoer had a chance to see Jones perform up close and personal and get to know him as a person when the two were with the gold-medal winning Canadian team at the 2015 world championship in Prague.
DeBoer, an assistant under Todd McLelland with Canada, was a few weeks away from being named the Sharks new head coach. Jones was a few weeks away from being involved in the Kings trade with the Boston Bruins for Milan Lucic and then being flipped to the Sharks.
With only 36 NHL regular season and playoff appearances, Jones has made the most of his first full season as a starter. But the Sharks are going to need another outstanding performance from their goaltender for a return trip to Pittsburgh next week.