VANCOUVER, British Columbia — When the Sharks acquired scoring winger Evander Kane and, to a lesser extent, new fourth-line center Eric Fehr, it gave the fan base hope that a deep playoff run could be forthcoming. After all, the Sharks have won seven of nine games since the Feb. 26 NHL trade deadline, and their playoff ticket is nearly booked after a last week's perfect 3-0 road trip through Western Canada.



But no playoff run is possible without steady goaltending, and in that regard, Martin Jones' recent play is perhaps the most evident reason to be optimistic.



Jones’ 2017-18 numbers are solid, but they don’t jump out, either. He’s 25-18-6 with a 2.51 goals-against average (19th in the NHL) and .916 save percentage (22nd in the NHL) in 51 games.



But since the All-Star break, Jones has been everything the organization hoped he would be when it signed him to a six-year, $34.5 million contract in the offseason, posting a 2.25 GAA and...