How do you put a terrible loss behind you? How about following it up with a gem against the defending Stanley Cup Champions?
That's precisely what the San Jose Sharks and Martin Jones did in a 2-0 win at the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday night.
Jones made 33 saves and earned his fifth shutout of the season.
San Jose (28-20-4), were embarrassed in a 6-2 loss at the Nashville Predators on Saturday, but they salvaged the final game of their four-game road trip. They earned a split in the four games.
Jones was not sharp in the Nashville loss, but head coach Pete Deboer opted not to make a switch and it turned out out to be the right call. Instead Jones, making his eighth consecutive start, played one of his best games in recent memory. I like Jone, but I don't fully trust him as a number one yet. I need to see more games like this one.
But I can't give all the credit to Jones.
The special teams came through in a big way...finally.
Patrick Marleau scored on the only Sharks power play, and the penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3. The Sharks are among the bottom half of the league (17th at 80.8%) on the PK, but they shut down the 9th best power play (20.2%) in the league and it turned out to be the difference in the game.
The Sharks have primarily been winning with their 5 on 5 offense and on a night when the 5 on 5 game wasn't there it was refreshing to see them get it done another way.
In my last blog I talked about this game being some sort of measuring stick for San Jose. It might not have been quite that important but winning this game in the fashion they did sure makes me feel pretty good about this team.
With the win, San Jose remains one point ahead of the surging Anaheim Ducks for second in the Pacific Division. All three California clubs are playing good hockey right now. The Sharks have to keep winning or they will find themselves in the Ducks rear view mirror fast.
I love that all the California teams are good. The race in the Pacific is shaping up to be one of the best in the NHL. It's good for the NHL and good for hockey in the Sunshine State.
The Sharks go home for two games before leaving again for a five-game road trip.
Game Notes:
- Sharks improve to 18-8-2 on the road. Still the best in the league.
- Sharks are a mind blowing 23-2-1 when scoring first and 20-0-2 when leading at the end of the second period.
- At age 36, Joe Thornton has goals in three consecutive games and points in 21 of 23 games.
- Marleau scored his 16th goal of the season, but just his second of 2016. Sadly, Marleau has just three goals in his last 21 games.
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I made an appearance on The Red Line Show onThe Hockey This Week Network yesterday with Paul Cuthbert. If you're interested in hearing me talk Martin Brodeur, Sharks, Ducks and Kings give it a listen.
Thank for reading, Steve