NHL-Penguins have trouble keeping up with Jones

By Steve Keating PITTSBURGH, June 9 (Reuters) - Martin Jones already has his name on a Stanley Cup as backup but if the San Jose Sharks rally to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and hoist the famous silver mug, he may find his name on the Conn Smythe trophy as well. Trailing in the best-of-seven final 1-3 and facing elimination on Thursday, the Sharks scored three times in a furious first frame before turning to their goaltender to protect a 3-2 lead. Jones delivered with an acrobatic tour de force as he made 44 saves, including 31 while shutting out the frustrated Penguins during the second and third periods. Now the Sharks return home to San Jose for Sunday's Game Six with Jones' name leading the conversation as a Conn Smythe candidate as the Stanley Cup's most valuable player - if the Sharks can complete a rare comeback. Since the Stanley Cup final went to the best-of-seven format in 1939, teams that have taken a 3-1 series lead have gone on to capture the Stanley Cup 31 of 32 times. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only NHL team to battle back from 3-1 deficit in the final and lift the Cup. "He (Jones) was great. He made some big-time saves," gushed Sharks Logan Couture, who contributed a goal to the win. "He's been playing like this for a long time, regular season, playoffs. "A lot of people unfortunately don't get to see him, us being on the West Coast. He's been unbelievable for us." More than being on the West Coast, Jones has spent much of his NHL career as a backup. As a member of the Los Angeles Kings, Jones watched from the bench in 2014 as Jonathan Quick led the team to their second Stanley Cup in three years. When DeBoer coached Canada at last year's world championships, Jones was again the backup but the Sharks coach saw something he liked in the netminder - composure. "I spent a month with him at the world championships, he backed up Mike Smith last year," said DeBoer. "We won a gold medal. Mostly practice. He played one game. I got to know him as a person, being around that team. "I think right away you recognized his composure, how calm and cool he was even in that situation. "Then the big question was whether there was a competitive edge there with that composure. That's always the million-dollar question." Jones answered that question during the regular season as he earned the number one job, starting 65 games and picking up 37 wins. "We started the season, it didn't start as smoothly for any of us as we wanted," admitted DeBoer. "I mean, we were winning one, losing one, including him. "Just kept battling and battling. Kept throwing him out there, he kept finding a way." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)