Martin Jones was incredible! I don't know how else to say it.
The San Jose Sharks netminder was phenomenal, superb, spectacular, legendary, wonderful and amazing. Truth be told, none of those adjectives even do justice to the display he put on Thursday night at the Consol Energy Center.
Jones made 44 saves in a heart-stopping 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in game 5. I'm not exaggerating when I say most of them were breathtaking. held my breath most of the game.
None more so than this beauty on Nick Bonino....
San Jose was out shot 46-22 in the game, but somehow managed to make first period goals by Brent Burns, Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson stand up.
The Sharks led 2-0 less than three minutes into the game before Pittsburgh answered with two goals in 22 seconds to tie the game 2-2.
The four goals in opening 5:06 of the game were the fastest in Stanley Cup Final history.
San Jose could have folded at that point, but that's not how these Sharks roll. The Sharks battled threw the adversity until Karlsson broke the tie nearly 10 minutes later.
From the Karlsson goal on, it was hold-onto-your-hats time for the Sharks.
Pittsburgh threw everything they had at the sharks net. Jones did not allow a goal over the final two periods, stopping all 31 shots he faced.
The Sharks won the game; Jones made sure of that, but it was quite clear San Jose was not the better team. The Corsi crowd had to be pulling their hair out because all the numbers pointed to a dominating Penguins performance.
Essentially, the Sharks had no business winning the game, but they did and they live to play another day. That's hockey and that's why the game is played on the ice and not on charts with lines and bright colors.
San Jose has to be better than they were on Thursday if they hope to force a game 7. It's all good though...there are a few days between games to enjoy being alive and that's just what the Sharks are going to do.
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I pretty much stood up for the entire third period. It was that intense. I was sure the Pens would find a way to crack Jones. Thank the maker I was wrong.
The Pens are still in the drivers seat, even with the series going back to California, but you have to love the fight in this San Jose team. While technically alive, they were on life support and the Pens were ready to pull the plug. There were like 900 million people waiting outside the Consol Center for a party that never was.
The Sharks refuse to walk into the light...at least for one more game.
The Pens lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 with game 6 back at the Tank on Sunday night.
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Hot Takeaways...
- The Sharks are 9-0 when leading after two periods in the playoffs.
- Joe Pavelski had four SOG and scored an empty net goal. It was his first goal of the Final and it was a big one...no a huge one. Maybe, just maybe its exactly what he needs to get going. Maybe.
- Jones' 44 saves were the most in an elimination game ending in regulation.
- Jones is the first goalie in the expansion era to have two 40+ save games in a Cup Final.
- The Sharks are 2-0 when facing elimination in these playoffs.
- Logan Couture became the fourth player to have three points (1g 2a) in a period for a team facing elimination in a Stanley Cup Final.
- Couture has 20 assists in the playoffs.
Thanks for reading, Steve Follow me on Twitter: @Faultlinehockey