Sharks’ Jones Key to Cup Final Success

PITTSBURGH — The shots came from the points, the circles, the slot. They came from behind the goal line.

In one hold-your-breath sequence during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist redirected a pass from teammate Sidney Crosby on the rush in front of the net. San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones stopped him. The puck skidded to the left corner.

But not to safety. Crosby whipped it right back at Jones, hoping for a bounce or rebound. Jones got a pad on it, and the puck ricocheted out of danger.

“They shoot from everywhere,” Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said.

The Penguins peppered the Sharks with 41 shots on goal in a 3-2 victory Monday. Entering Game 2 at Consol Energy Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports), a main question is whether the Sharks can reduce their shots against and whether Jones can steal a game, or the series, if not. It says a lot that he was their best player in Game 1, and it wasn’t enough.

The Sharks have allowed more than 41 shots only once in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They allowed 45 on May 5 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Nashville Predators, and that game went to triple overtime, and San Jose lost 4-3 after allowing 27 shots in regulation.

The Sharks allowed 39 shots in regulation in Game 2 of that series, and Jones made 37 saves in a 3-2 victory. But otherwise Jones has had to be solid, not spectacular. He hasn’t had to make more than 29 saves in any other win. He has three shutouts, but he didn’t have to make more than 26 saves in any …

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