For better or for worse, the San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup hopes depend on Martin Jones.
From the moment the San Jose Sharks traded for defenseman Erik Karlsson, the motto for their season was set. – Stanley Cup or bust. The Sharks have been living on the edge as an all-in for a Cup team for the past four seasons. There has never been a better chance for them to end their championship drought.
The Sharks are a darn good team. They can trot out Brent Burns and Karlsson, two of the most lethal offensive defensemen of the salary cap era. Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl, Joe Thornton, and Timo Meier lead an impressive core of forwards. They have scored the second most goals in the NHL.
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But ultimately, the Sharks’ Stanley Cup chances don’t fall on any of those players. Or any skater, for that matter. Rather, their hopes and dreams depend on the man who, for better or for worse, will determine how for they’ll in the Stanley Cup Playoffs – goaltender Martin Jones.
The Sharks won’t need him to be great. Which is a good thing because San Jose has a team fully capable of winning the Stanley Cup in front of their goaltender. Jones, however, has been alarmingly inconsistent. He might have the second-most wins in the NHL as of Feb. 19, but wins are far better at evaluating teams than goalies.
Jones’ save percentage has usually been right around the league average. If the Sharks get average goaltending from Jones in the playoffs, they’d happily take it, given how lethal their offense is. However, he has been anything but average this season. Far from it, actually. His .896 save percentage is the fourth-worst among goalies with at least 40 appearances. Moreover, at five-on-five, he has the lowest save percentage of any goalie with at least 900 minutes.
It’s not like Jones is facing more shots or tougher shots than other goalies, either. Only Petr Mrazek faces fewer five-on-five shots on goal per hour than him. Granted, he ranks 18th out of the 40 qualified goaltenders in high danger chances per hour. However, Jones has a .795 save percentage on those high danger chances, which is the seventh-lowest.
To be fair, it’s easy to see why the Sharks trust Jones. He’s been noticeably better throughout his career in the postseason than in the regular season. In 42 Stanley Cup Playoff games, Jones has a .926 save percentage, compared to his .912 save percentage during the regular season.
The Sharks are hitching their Stanley Cup hopes to him, for better or for worse. San Jose better hope the Martin Jones who has dominated the past three postseasons shows up in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Because if he doesn’t, the Sharks will likely see their best chance of winning a Stanley Cup pass them by.