SAN JOSE Youth Christian Djoos Jersey , Calif. (AP) For years, the San Jose Sharks seemed to have all the ingredients necessary to win a Stanley Cup. With the possible exception of a goaltender who could steal a game when the rest of the team wasn’t in top form.Martin Jones has been just that kind of goalie since coming to San Jose three years ago. He helped the Sharks make it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016; was their best player in a first-round loss to Edmonton a year ago; and played at an elite level once again during a first-round sweep against Anaheim this month.”He’s just calm. Nothing really rattles him,” captain Joe Pavelski said. ”This time of the season that goes such a long ways. You know you’re going to face a little adversity, you know you’re going to maybe have it in your own end at times and you need some saves and he’s always been there. Nothing’s really fazed him. As a team playing in front of a goalie like that, it gives you a lot of confidence.”Few goalies have ever been better in the postseason than Jones, who has a 1.90 goals against average and .931 save percentage in 36 playoff contests heading into a second-round meeting against Vegas.Jones has the lowest goals against average of any active goalie with at least 20 postseason games and ranks third all-time in playoff percentage, trailing only Braden Holtby (.932) and Tim Thomas (.933).Having that rock on the back end provides comfort for the rest of the team, knowing Jones has the ability to erase any mistakes they make and will keep the Sharks in the game.”It’s not just the saves, it’s the timing of the saves,” coach Peter DeBoer said. ”When you make saves at key times or the right times of the game you have that confidence as a group to try to make more plays or take a chance here or there to score a goal http://www.officialcapitals.com/authent … sky-jersey , because you know if it’s the wrong decision that a lot of nights he has those guys’ back.”Jones has been outstanding ever since joining the Sharks three years ago after beginning his career as Jonathan Quick’s backup in Los Angeles. The Kings traded him to Boston in June 2015 only to watch the Bruins almost immediately deal him to the rival Sharks for Sean Kuraly and a first-round draft pick.The move paid off immediately as Jones quickly proved he had what it took to be a No. 1 goalie in the regular season and even better on the bigger stage of the playoffs.He anchored the team on a run to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago and was far and away San Jose’s top player in a six-game loss to Pittsburgh. He was outstanding again last year in a first-round loss to Edmonton and has been even better this year.He earned a shutout in Game 1 against the Ducks, set a franchise playoff record with 45 regulation saves in Game 3, and helped seal the clincher with several point-blank stops against Corey Perry to protect a one-goal lead. He stopped 128 of 132 shots for a .970 save percentage in the series.”He’s an all-star,” Couture said. ”He’s a top goalie in the league, and I think that’s known now. He’s been great since he’s been a San Jose Shark.”The understated Jones said he doesn’t concern himself with where he ranks among top goaltenders or who is in the opposing net, even if it’s a player as talented as Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 127 of 130 shots in a first-round sweep against the Kings.Jones said he has plenty to worry about with the skaters on the Golden Knights.”They’re a fast team. They come at you with all four lines, they forecheck hard,” he said. ”They’re a tenacious hard-working team. We have to make sure we’re prepared properly and ready to go for the start of Game 1. They don’t give you any room to breathe really. They come at you hard.”STATWATCHJones’ career .931 save percentage is third best ever among goalies with at least 20 playoff games. He has allowed more than three goals in regulation just twice in 34 playoff starts.BIGGEST MOMENTJones thrived on the big stage of the Stanley Cup Final two years ago against Pittsburgh when he was probably San Jose’s best player. Jones had a .932 save percentage for the series and had 44 saves in a 4-2 win in Game 5 that kept the Sharks alive.SOMETHING TO WATCH FORJones wasn’t at his best against Vegas this season, with a 3.32 goals against average and .899 save percentage. He was knocked out early in the second period of the first meeting after allowing three goals on 14 shots http://www.officialcapitals.com/authent … sov-jersey , and lost two other times. Jones did stop 24 of 25 shots in a 2-1 home win last month against the Golden Knights.— DENVER (AP) The third-string goalie nicknamed ”Hamburglar” stole a game for Colorado in Nashville.No time for Andrew Hammond to revel in his thievery, though. Game 6 awaits Sunday at the Pepsi Center. Once again, the Avalanche and their surprise goalie with the catchy moniker – he used to have a mask with the McDonald’s “Hamburglar” character on the side – will try to ward off elimination trailing Nashville 3-2 in the first-round series.”Backs against the wall in an elimination game seem to bring out the best in us,” Hammond said Saturday after the team arrived home.In Philadelphia, Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth faces the same kind of pressure Sunday with his team down 3-2 heading home against Pittsburgh. He stopped 30 shots in Game 5 to help the Flyers extend that series.”I’ve been practicing well and feeling good about my game,” said Neuvirth, who’s been banged up this season. ”I believe in myself that I can bring my `A’ game on the big stage.”Hammond certainly brought out his best in what Colorado coach Jared Bednar called ”one of the biggest games he’s had in his career.”The 30-year-old Hammond turned back 44 shots from the top-seeded Predators in Game 5. This after he was thrust into action for the third period of Game 4 when Jonathan Bernier went down with a lower-body injury. Bernier was filling in with starter Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a knee injury.To think, Hammond was essentially a throw-in player during the three-team deal that sent Matt Duchene to Ottawa in November. The Avalanche already had a surplus of goalies, so Hammond spent time in the American Hockey League. Eventually, Hammond was called up Jakub Vrana Jersey , but before making an appearance with Colorado he suffered a concussion. And once he recovered, he was briefly sent back to the AHL.Hammond’s only NHL game of the season came on March 28 against Philadelphia, stopping 31 shots in a 2-1 loss.On Friday, Hammond made his first playoff start since April 17, 2015, with Ottawa.”I won’t lie. There are days you wonder if it would happen again for you,” Hammond said. ”As cliche as it is, you stick to the process and try to get better. Fortunately, it all worked out last night. We’re not satisfied, though. We want to keep going and win tomorrow night Derek Ryan Jersey Womens , and extend the series, and go back to Nashville and play another meaningful hockey game.”The Predators now find themselves trying to avoid becoming the fifth Presidents’ Trophy winners to be eliminated in the first round since 2005-06.”There’s a lot of confidence in the room and belief in the room that we can go to Colorado and win a game,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.ABOUT THAT NICKNAMEHammond is ambivalent about being called the ”Hamburglar,” a nickname that’s followed him since his college days at Bowling Green.”To be honest, I don’t know if anyone actually calls me that to my face outside of maybe fans,” said Hammond, who had the “Hamburglar” character on his mask while in Ottawa. ”I have no problem with it. I think the side story it’s taken on has been pretty funny. It adds to it.”Does his family call him that?”No,” he laughed. ”No.”ROAD SCHOLARSThe road team is 4-1 in the Penguins-Flyers series as it shifts back to Philadelphia. Even more, the Penguins are 4-0 in Philly this year, winning by a combined score of 20-4 John Carlson Jersey , including 10-1 in Games 3 and 4.”I’m not a huge believer you carry momentum over from one game to the next,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. ”You have to re-generate it. We played some really good hockey games at home down the stretch. We didn’t do it the last two.”ON THE MENDThe Penguins could have forward Patric Hornqvist back in the lineup after he skated with the team Saturday. He’s missed the last two games with an upper-body injury.Hornqvist has 20 career playoff goals, including one in this series.READY TO GOVegas coach Gerard Gallant plans to pick up the intensity at practice, maybe with some 3-on-3 scrimmages featuring a little contact. He doesn’t want his team to become too rusty given the layoff in between series. The expansion Golden Knights could go more than a week between finishing the sweep of Los Angeles on Tuesday and starting their second-round series against San Jose.”In a perfect world, I’d soon have three or four days off and get back at it,” Gallant said. ”I’m sure San Jose is the same way. Any coach would say the same thing.”—AP Sports Writers Teresa M. Walker and Will Graves contributed to this report.—