The thing about the whole "elite in the playoffs" thing...he was spectacular for three straight series against Pittsburgh, Edmonton, and Anaheim. He was the single greatest reason the Sharks lost against Vegas.
There are elite goaltenders, it is just that by definition, there aren't a lot of them.
The thing about the whole “elite in the playoffs” thing is that since 2015-2016, among 22 goaltenders who have started at least 7 games, Jones ranks 4th in wins, 3rd in SV%, and 4th in GAA. If you limit those numbers to the 13 goaltenders who have started at least 17 games, Jones ranks 1st in SV% and 2nd in GAA.
I would entirely agree with the argument that a discrepancy in goaltending performance is the biggest reason that the Sharks lost to Vegas, but I would say that if you must put that on one player, then it’s Fleury.
However, I do agree with the general sentiment that Jones was very poor against Vegas, and that that provides room for concern about his playoff performances going forward. I’m worried about Jones. I think he’s pretty overrated. He’s my biggest concern on this team. But the numbers don’t lie.
Who are these elite goaltenders? Particularly, what goaltenders have been elite in the regular season
and playoffs over the course of the past 2 seasons? Or, what goaltenders have been elite in some portions of those, and bad in none of them? Fleury and Holtby were bad in the 16-17 and 17-18 RS, respectively. Bobrovsky was terrible in both of the playoffs. Matt Murray was bad in the 17-18 regular season and playoffs. Pekka Rinne was bad in the 17-18 playoffs.
I suppose that one could argue that John Gibson was bad in none of those, but he was thoroughly outplayed by Martin Jones in a playoff series. Visually, I thought Gibson was solid, but his 3.59 GAA and .889 SV% in the playoffs against us are a hell of a lot more reliable than what I think my eyes told me in April. Right now, goaltenders are simply very inconsistent. There isn’t a single one who has been elite in the regular season and playoffs for the past two seasons.
Again, I’m not a Jones apologist. I think he’s been terrible to start the season. But the numbers, over a very large sample size, are in his favor.