Everyone loves the story of an underdog, The San Jose Sharks are the ones to beat this season. The 3-0 series lead has put San Jose at a considerable advantage. Their entire player lineup is something to be proud of. The Sharks are officially the West’s top contenders.
In Game 3 of the Stanley Cup series, San Jose had a four-goal second period, which led to three more goals in the final period. The Anaheim Ducks were at a loss for words. There was no way for them to catch up at this point. The Sharks 6-1 lead in the final minutes left in the game had the arena roaring.
San Jose was able to get two more power-play goals, past Anaheim back up Ryan Miller, and the game was over. When the final buzzer blared, the Ducks were left shaken by this brutal lose. The Sharks have officially surpassed their post-season expectations. They’ve had one of the most impressive playoff performances I’ve seen through the 20 plus games this 1st round of the series.
Top Players
The way the Sharks have been performing recently have proven they have been an incredibly underestimated Western Conference team. Martin Jones has made a massive difference for the Sharks this season as well. Afterall he did open the series with a 25-save shutout. In Game 2 Jones made 28 saves, 30 shots and managed to stop every puck that came his way. Which allowed him to get that one-goal lead in the last 12 minutes of the game. But Game 3 was Martin’s best performance thus far. Jones stopped 46 shots. Only letting one power-play goal past him, made by Richard Rickell of the Anaheim Ducks.
It’s only been three games, and Jones has been unstoppable! His save percentage is at an all-time high of .970% and 1.00 goals-against average. Martin Jones has only allowed 3 goals on 101 shots. This man is unstoppable. Given the fact that Jones had an average performance during the regular season, this postseason skill game as a shock.
Jones has only been one piece of the puzzle to San Jose’s success this postseason. The Sharks have shown fantastic skill far beyond their goaltending capabilities. San Jose currently has 11 players with a minimum of two points in the series. Every single forward has made it on the ice against Anaheim and scored.
Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski are currently leading the way with five points apiece. Evander Kane is the best trade deadline pickup San Jose has had so far. Kane has had three goals and four points, 17 shots on the net and an average on ice time of 18:30. Evander has also been an extremely physical asset to the team, laying six hits in three games. He’s definitely in it to win it all this postseason.
Those factors are all key in making it to the final two in the playoffs. The San Jose Sharks may have seemed like the underdogs of the NHL during the regular season, but have proven to be the Western Conference front-runners. I can’t wait to see what Game 4 has in store for this amazing team. Keep it up, boys.