Sharks’ Martin Jones hopes patience, hard work can pay dividends
After shutting out the Minnesota Wild, Martin Jones will start for the San Jose Sharks on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils
SAN JOSE — Martin Jones said he’s enjoyed working with Evgeni Nabokov these last couple of months, saying the instruction from the former Sharks goalie has led to steady improvement in his game.
All that was missing were the end results.
Jones got that needed positive reinforcement Saturday, as he earned his first shutout in nearly a calendar year in the Sharks’ 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
Jones finished with 39 saves, including 15 in the third period, as he won for just the second time in seven starts since Bob Boughner took over for Pete DeBoer as head coach and Nabokov replaced Johan Hedberg as goalie coach on Dec. 11.
“Not easy when you get in on a back-to-back situation in less than 24 hours and you know you’ve got to be one of the best players on the ice to give your team a chance, and he did that,” Boughner said of Jones. “He looked confident. He was out, he was playing more aggressive.”
It was also Jones’ first shutout since March 11, 2019, when the Sharks beat the Wild 3-0.
“I thought we played pretty well as a team,” Jones said. “There wasn’t a lot of odd man rush stuff, I thought the chances we gave up were chances that were giving me a good opportunity to stop the puck. I felt like I was moving well.
“I’ve worked pretty hard these last couple months and it was nice to get rewarded with a win. But it’s one game. Just try and keep building off of it.”
Jones will get that opportunity Thursday when the Sharks face the New Jersey Devils start a four-game road trip. Jones enters the game with a 14-17-2 record and a .894 save percentage, a slight improvement from the .887 save percentage he was lugging around on the morning of Nov. 13.
There’s a good chance Jones will see one more start before the end of the trip, which continues with games against the New York Rangers on Saturday, the New York Islanders on Sunday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
It would be the type of regular work that Jones has gone without in recent weeks after Aaron Dell took over the No. 1 role. Since Jan. 1, Jones has only made four starts, going 1-2-1. Dell has made 14, with a 8-6-0 record,
“At first, he was OK,” Boughner said, “and then you go through that period of watching Dell play as well as he has and not getting the games, and that sort of sets you back a little bit.
“I had a talk with Jonesy last week and we discussed the schedule of games we’ve got in the next week or two. I told him my idea of getting him back in there.”
That’s where the work with Nabokov, who holds just about every Sharks’ all-time record for goaltenders, has been so crucial.
Jones has always been the type of goalie to play his angles, and rely less on individual athleticism, and it would be tough for Nabokov to do a complete overhaul of Jones’ style in mid-season.
“It’s tough on a goalie to try and change things,” Boughner said. “You’ve got to watch how much you try and change, if it’s one or two things about being more aggressive. Not trying to change his complete style.”
From Jones’ vantage point, being aggressive doesn’t necessarily mean playing outside his crease more.
“A lot of it is body position stuff, putting myself in a good position where I can kind of react quickly and efficiently to the puck,” he said. “Just a little bit more mobile I think in my movement and my tracking.”
The Sharks would love to see Jones find some sort of rhythm before the end of the season, just so they don’t have to enter training camp in the fall with as big a question mark in goal. Jones has four more years on his contract that carries a $5.75 million average annual value, meaning a buyout of that deal would be tough to swallow and a trade hard to consummate.
Right now, for Jones, it’s all about building on his performance from Saturday.
“Just try to take advantage of this extra practice time and work hard,” Jones said. “It’s just rewarding when you put the work in like that.”
COUTURE JOINS TRIP: Sharks captain Logan Couture, injured since Jan. 7, joined the Sharks for the trip. Although Couture will not play, the Sharks’ early plan is for him to take part in morning skates and if he continues to feel well, participate in a practice Monday in Philadelphia.
Boughner said after all that, there is an outside chance Couture, who suffered a small fracture in his left ankle last month, could play Feb. 27 when the Sharks return home to play the Devils.
“It’s great news for us just to get him back out there and be with the team,” Boughner said.
PLAN FOR PROUT: Defenseman Dalton Prout has been sent to the Barracuda on a conditioning assignment. Prout, who has not played since he suffered a concussion Nov. 14 in a game against the Anaheim Ducks, skated with the Sharks on Tuesday and was to undergo tests to see if he could resume playing.
“He definitely hasn’t played in so long, he’s going to have to get some games in,” Boughner said.
With Prout going to the AHL, the Sharks recalled Nicolas Meloche, 22, who has six assists in 38 games with the Barracuda this season. Meloche is not expected to play Thursday.