SAN JOSE -– Sharks goalie Martin Jones is having remarkable success lately due in part to the team’s competence in getting the puck out of the defensive zone quickly and efficiently. The best defense is a good offense, as the saying goes, and Jones hasn’t exactly been peppered with shots by St. Louis.
While the defensemen around him have done a good job of retrieving loose pucks, being physical, avoiding forecheckers and transitioning the other way, Jones deserves some of the credit for the team rarely getting hemmed in its own zone.
His ability to play the puck, a point of emphasis from the team’s coaching staff when they first convened in training camp, has steadily improved throughout the season, according to coach Pete DeBoer.