The Return of Maple Leafs from the Lost: Jones, Matthews, Marner
At last, the losses have ceased, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are once again winning. The Maple Leafs defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 on the road in Columbus, thus putting an end to their two dramatic (that is, too erratic to conceive) losses. Martin Jones, the team’s goalie in this instance, performed admirably.
Before their Christmas break, the Maple Leafs once again brought joy to their supporters, led by the team’s Core Four. With games remaining, the team is tied with the Florida Panthers and currently trails the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic by four games.
First takeaway: Martin Jones Gets Back to His Season-Earlier Form
I’ll look at three important lessons learned from the game in this piece.
First takeaway: Martin Jones Gets Back to His Season-Earlier Form
Goalie Martin Jones, who made 27 stops on 28 shots in his net, was instrumental in the victory from yesterday night. Jones has established himself as THE dependable presence with a 4-1-0 record in four starts, a 2.79 goals-against-average (GAA) and a.917 save percentage. Given Ilya Samsonov’s difficulties and Joseph Woll’s injury absence, Jones has emerged as the Maple Leafs’ de facto starter. He has proven to be stable in the Maple Leafs’ system.
Jones’ performance in the game last night, save 27 of 28 shots with a 0.964 save percentage, confirms that he is currently the best goalie on the team.
It turned out that general manager Brad Treliving made one of his better off-season acquisitions when he acquired Jones. In particular, Jones is more collected and at ease in the crease than Samsonov is. His four-game record is 4-1-0, his save percentage is 0.917, and his goals against average is 2.79. Better yet, he receives a meager income of $875,000
