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SAN JOSE Adidas Matt Bartkowski 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, 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 Adidas J.T. Brown Jersey , 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, and lost two other times. Jones did stop 24 of 25 shots in a 2-1 home win last month against the Golden Knights.— FRISCO, Texas (AP) Ken Hitchcock wasn’t sure how long he would coach the Dallas Stars the second time around after 15 years away.Turned out to be one season.The coach who led Dallas to its only Stanley Cup championship retired Friday, ending a 22-year career as the third-winningest coach in NHL history. The 823 wins are behind only Scotty Bowman (1,244) and Joel Quenneville (884). He’s fourth in total games with 1 Adidas Adam Pelech Jersey ,536.The 66-year-old Hitchcock will become a consultant for the Stars.”I have contemplated this since our last game and I came to the conclusion that now is the right time to step away and let the younger generation of coaches take over,” said Hitchcock, who last year signed a multiyear contract that included the stipulation of becoming a consultant when he was finished coaching.Hitchcock returned to Dallas after 14 seasons elsewhere, including stops in Philadelphia, Columbus and St. Louis. General manager Jim Nill hoped Hitchcock could get the Stars back to the playoffs, but a late-season slump kept them out for the second straight year and the eighth time in 10 seasons.”We were honored to have Ken as our head coach and it was fitting that he finished his coaching here,” Stars owner Tom Gaglardi said. ”He is a certain Hockey Hall of Fame coach and he left a lasting legacy wherever he went.”The Stars went to the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons, beating Buffalo for the title in 1999 before losing to New Jersey in six games. Those are the only times Hitchcock or the Stars have made it to the final.Dallas also won five straight division titles under Hitchcock, who was fired from his first head-coaching job with the team sliding in January 2002. He coached the Flyers from 2002-06, followed by the Blue Jackets (2006-10) and the Blues (2011-17).St. Louis made the playoffs in each of Hitchcock’s five full seasons, reaching the Western Conference finals in 2016 after beating top seed Dallas in seven games in the second round. The Blues abruptly fired Hitchcock in February last year, cutting short what was already going to be his last season with the Blues after their fifth loss in six games.”To each and every player that I coached Adidas Thomas Hickey Jersey , I wish I could do it all over again,” said Hitchcock, a Canadian whose record is 823-506 with 88 ties and 119 losses in overtime or a shootout. ”You guys were the main reason for the all the wins, and I enjoyed coaching each and every one of you.”Nill turned to Hitchcock when the Stars had 79 points, their second-fewest in a full season since moving Dallas in 1993-94, in the last of four seasons under Lindy Ruff.Led by high-scoring forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin and one of the top-scoring defensemen in John Klingberg, the Stars were solidly positioned for the playoffs in March before an eight-game losing streak that started with six losses on the road.Still, Dallas improved significantly in a year, finishing with 92 points, just three out of the playoffs. And Nill said Hitchcock went out on his terms.”To have him instill what he put into our organization, to help build this foundation, it’s going to pay dividends for us down the road Adidas Tom Kuhnhackl Jersey ,” Nill said. ”He made a lot of these players a lot better.”Nill essentially described a wide-open coaching search that could take time depending on whether potential candidates are on teams still alive in the playoffs, including teams in the minor leagues.The sixth-year general manager has chosen veteran NHL head coaches both times with the Stars.”I want to be pretty open-minded about this,” Nill said. ”You’re seeing some successful young coaches come in. And there’s some successful coaches out there that have great resumes. I think there’s a big variable there.”Hitchcock’s playoff record is 86-82, and he also has an extensive background with Team Canada, which is where he forged a relationship with Nill. In Detroit, Nill was still an assistant GM when Hitchcock was a guest coach on Mike Babcock’s staff during training camp in 2010.”He poured his whole life into better understanding in-game concepts and strategy, inspiring players and enhancing teams,” Nill said. ”He leaves an indelible mark on the game, and his influence will be felt across the sport for years to come.”—