The San Jose Sharks woke up this Thanksgiving and found themselves in a playoff spot, albeit barely.
They hold the second and final wild card spot by the thinnest of margins, edging out the Colorado Avalanche not on points, games played, regulation and overtime wins, but a single goal in the goal differential column.
As early as it is, it's a critical time to be in playoff position. Since the NHL expanded to 30 teams in 2000, 79 percent of teams holding playoff spots on Thanksgiving made the postseason.
If the Sharks avoid becoming a member of the dreaded 21 percent, they'll have two players to thank, more than anyone else, for their good fortune: Logan Couture and Martin Jones.
Couture, along with Joonas Donskoi, seems to be the only Shark unaffected by a team-wide scoring bug. Even as he's cooled off slightly, his 11 goals are still tied for 10th-most in the league.
He's held a positive share of puck possession on the ice, despite starting the fourth-lowest percentage of his shifts in the offensive zone among Sharks forwards that have played at least 50 minutes this season, according to Corsica Hockey.
Couture also leads the team in power play scoring with three goals, and is one of only three San Jose players that's scored multiple times on the man advantage. It's hard to imagine the league's fourth-worst power play (15.1 percent) getting worse, but it undoubtedly would be without the 28-year-old.
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While Couture has stood out among a hapless offense, Jones has led one of the league's best defensive units. The Sharks are among the best teams at limiting shots and scoring chances across all situations, but Jones has not let them down.
Although his .922 even-strength save percentage is 27th among 51 goalies that have played at least 200 minutes, San Jose's given him a razor thin margin of error. He had the fifth-lowest goal support of any goalie entering last night, as statistician Darin Stephens noted, and his play has been good enough to keep the Sharks in games in spite of that.
Jones has also led the way for the league's best penalty kill, posting a .940 save percentage in shorthanded situations. That's the best mark among goalies that have faced at least 80 shots on the penalty kill, according to Stephens.
The sustainability of Jones' penalty kill dominance and Couture's 20.8 shooting percentage is an open question, but their importance to the team early in the season cannot be overstated. They've helped keep the Sharks afloat, and in a playoff spot with history on their side at the critical Thanksgiving mark.
The Sharks need to not only let them have extra helpings during their holiday feast, but find a way to give them more help on the ice too.
