Martin Jones’ Huge Come Back in the Series Between Sharks and Golden Knights

All the fans who were at T-Mobile arena last night had a chance to see a fantastic game between Las Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks. The guests won 2-1 after a double OT, and scoring a shorthanded goal.

Because of this, we will witness Game 7 in San Jose, which will decide the most interesting series in the whole first round of the NHL playoffs.

The hero of the game was Tomas Hertl who was the scorer of the stunner with 8:47 to go until the end of the second OT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxEdc_4qs8&t=30s

Half a minute before his goal, Barclay Goodrow had to go out because of slashing, and the Sharks found themselves in a pretty tough position. However, one moment of Hertl’s inspiration was enough for him to make a decisive effort which could even save the playoffs for his team.

He took the puck near the center circle, headed towards the goal, and made a laser-precise shot from the face-off circle at the left side. Marc-Andre Fleury couldn’t do anything. Hertl said after the game that he might have had some luck while scoring because of an accidental help from one of the rivals.

“I just took a couple of steps and tried to shoot it. Maybe [Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore] hit my puck a little bit. If you don’t try, you’ll never know. Somehow it got through.”

The guests took the lead 9 seconds before the end of the opening period and somewhat ambushed the home team, who certainly didn’t see that one coming.

Logan Couture shocked the crowd in Las Vegas by beating Fleury after Timo Meier’s assist. But the home team responded through Jonathan Marchessault 11:20 into the second.

From that moment on, a vicious fight had been seen on the ice and the absolute star of the night was Sharks’ goalie Martin Jones who had tremendous 58 saves, setting the new record in San Jose’s franchise history.

After an awful performance in the opening games of the series when he came off the ice twice, the 29-year old made a huge comeback in the last two contests. He made 88 saves and allowed only three goals in Sharks’ two latest wins, and without a doubt was the X-factor for those triumphs.

Captain Joe Pavelski was absolutely thrilled with the way his goaltender led the team and saved them from a couple of nasty situations.

“We knew [Jones] was on,” Pavelski said. “You could feel it, for sure. You’re looking at the scoreboard, and the shots are what they are, but he was moving, seeing the puck.”

Hi here's just one of the FIFTY-EIGHT saves Martin Jones made tonight (a franchise record, by the way). #GameOfJones | #PlayoffMode pic.twitter.com/fJpAaT7bJf

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 22, 2019

This game might have gone the other way, and it wouldn’t be unfair. Golden Knights were playing good hockey, they didn’t stiff and crack under pressure as some say. Simply, they didn’t have any luck.

“I like the way our team’s played,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “We’re playing good hockey. It’s two tough teams.”

According to the Vegas’ coach, there is no big philosophy before Game 7 in California.

“It’s a Game 7…. I think it’ll be two teams grinding it out, trying to advance. It’s do or die in the next game.”

At the moment, the momentum is clearly on Sharks’ side, as they managed to come back from being down 3-1 and now have a home-court advantage. Also, their goalie is ready to rock, and if he posts another performance like in the past 2 games, Vegas chances for advancement are not very high.

Still, nobody could underestimate Stone, Stastny, and Pacioretty, because these guys can explode at any given moment, and score three goals in six or seven minutes regardless of the way the opponents play. That is why Vegas is so dangerous, because of their moments of inspiration.

Don’t miss Game 7 between these two sides. Although the Golden Knights have a short history, we could say that they and San Jose have a certain rivalry. This series will only make it bigger.

Game 7 will take place at SAP Center on Tuesday 10 p.m. ET.