His name isn’t as memorable as some of his predecessors, his words not as lyrical as at least one of them.
But put Martin Jones at the top of the list of goaltenders in Sharks franchise history.
Behind a wall-like performance by Jones, the Sharks swept away the Ducks on Wednesday night, setting up a second-round matchup with the NHL’s newest darling, the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks stopped the red-hot Ducks in their tracks, and now they get to see if they can do the same against the Knights.
On Wednesday, the Sharks won 2-1 and Jones stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced. In the four-game series, he stopped 128 of the 132 shots he faced.
The 28-year-old has already led the Sharks to their longest playoff run in franchise history, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016 in his first season with the team.
Now he has led them to their second-ever series sweep; the other was the Sharks’ elimination of Vancouver in 2013 when Antti Niemi was in goal.
So move over, Evgeni Nabokov. And Niemi. And the original Sharks legend, Arturs “Like Wall” Irbe. The calm, soft-spoken British Columbian might be the best goalie the Sharks have ever had.
But put Martin Jones at the top of the list of goaltenders in Sharks franchise history.
Behind a wall-like performance by Jones, the Sharks swept away the Ducks on Wednesday night, setting up a second-round matchup with the NHL’s newest darling, the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks stopped the red-hot Ducks in their tracks, and now they get to see if they can do the same against the Knights.
On Wednesday, the Sharks won 2-1 and Jones stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced. In the four-game series, he stopped 128 of the 132 shots he faced.
The 28-year-old has already led the Sharks to their longest playoff run in franchise history, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016 in his first season with the team.
Now he has led them to their second-ever series sweep; the other was the Sharks’ elimination of Vancouver in 2013 when Antti Niemi was in goal.
So move over, Evgeni Nabokov. And Niemi. And the original Sharks legend, Arturs “Like Wall” Irbe. The calm, soft-spoken British Columbian might be the best goalie the Sharks have ever had.
