We should have seen this coming. Seattle Kraken goalie Martin Jones has been exemplary during his team’s current homestand and outstanding overall dating back to Seattle’s October 25th game against Buffalo. That’s essentially when he took the reigns from an injured Philipp Grubauer.
Apart from one blip against Vancouver during that stretch, which was more the case of few unlucky bounces, Jones has been fully deserving of at least NHL 3rd star honors.
We’ve praised Seattle Kraken General Manager Ron Francis for “Jonesy’s” acquisition this summer; a sturdy, veteran security blanket at a reasonable price. With franchise original number-one netminder Grubauer on the shelf for three weeks recently, the club has relied on the 32-year-old Jones to carry the workload effectively.
That he has done.
Seattle Kraken NHL Honors
The NHL summed it up this way in handing him 3rd-star honors for the week ending Sunday, November 20th: Jones went 2-0-0 with a 1.90 goals-against average and .932 save percentage to guide the Kraken to a pair of overtime wins.
The schedule fell into place, that’s for sure. With a couple of two day breaks and a three day break during this ongoing six-game homestand, it allowed the Seattle Kraken to rely on Jones consistently. He was well rested so the club could avoid going to a back-up.
The Seattle Kraken have one more game on the homestand on Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks. It’ll be interesting to see which way they go with the start. Grubauer is healthy again and will be looking for action, but it would be hard to sit Jone’s hot hand. Then again, a return for “Grooby” against the Sharks at home rather than a road game in Vegas might be an easier transition.
Unless of course they decide to just keep riding Jones until a break becomes absolutely necessary.
Overall, Jones has a 9-4-and-2 record, a 2.30 goals against average, and a .913 save percentage in 15 appearances. He has one shut-out along the way, November 3rd at the Minnesota Wild.
