Last season was a tough one for Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Markstrom, 33, was coming off a season in which he was a Vezina Trophy finalist as the league’s best goaltender, won 37 games, had a 2.22 goals-against average, posted a .922 save percentage, and had nine shutouts.
Because he had such a strong 2021-22 campaign, many figured that Markstrom would have a great year last season. That was not the case as he struggled to find his game.
Markstrom finished the season with a 23-21-0-12 record while also having a 2.92 goals-against average, a .892 save percentage, and one shutout. While he was not the main culprit, Markstrom’s inconsistent play between the pipes was one of the reasons why the Flames missed the Stanley Cup playoffs last season after being one of the league’s best teams the season before.
This season has seen the return of a confident Markstrom. As of this writing (Tuesday night, January 23rd), he is 13-11-0-2 with a 2.59 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage, and one shutout.
Thanks to Markstrom’s strong play in goal, the Flames are back in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Flames are currently 21-20-5 for 47 points, which puts them four points out of the second wild card spot that the Nashville Predators are currently holding.
There are a few reasons why Markstrom is having a much better season than last year. For starters, he is playing with a lot of confidence.
Markstrom is challenging shooters, swallowing up pucks, coming up with big saves when his team needs them the most, and winning hockey games. Just look at what he has done in his last five starts:
- January 2nd: Stopped 28 of 29 shots in a win over the Minnesota Wild
- January 6th: Stopped 39 of 42 shots in a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers
- January 9th: Stopped 30 of 33 shots in a win over the Ottawa Senators
- January 11th: Stopped 32 of 34 shots in a win over the Arizona Coyotes
- January 13th: Stopped 31 of 32 shots in a win over the Vegas Golden Knights
Another reason why Markstrom is having a solid season is due to the support he has gotten from his head coach Ryan Huska and his teammates. In speaking with Julian McKenzie of The Athletic, Huska spoke highly of Markstrom and said that he was more than on top of his game this season.
“When he’s in the net and he’s feeling the way he is, you feel like you have a chance to win,” Huska said. “And if there’s a mistake on the ice, he’s going to bail people out.”
Markstrom’s teammate, Rasmus Andersson, told McKenzine that Markstrom was not the one to blame when it comes to last season’s struggles. He also spoke about how he thinks Markstrom is one of the best goaltenders in the league.
“I don’t think he was bad last year or anything like that,” Andersson said. “He’s a top three goalie in the league. I keep saying this every time I’m here, he’s a top three goalie in the league. His leadership, we talk about accountability. Again, he’s one of those guys who looks at himself in the mirror before he says anything else. He makes it easy for us D-men out there too with the way he plays the puck. He helps break the puck out quite a bit.
“It’s nice to see that you guys finally jump on board, too. Because he’s a hell of a goalie and top three in my opinion.”
Lastly, Markstrom is a goaltender who works hard, battles, and is extremely competitive. He came into the season looking to show people that the goaltender he was just two seasons ago is still here and that he can be one of the best goaltenders in the league.
This is something that Huska alluded to when he spoke to McKenzie. He mentioned how Markstrom used last year as motivation to be better this season and be the goalie that everyone knows he can be.
“You knew he was going to come back a different person,” Huska said. “We weren’t expecting anything different from him. We know that’s the way he is. He’s one of the better competitors we have in our dressing room. He deserves a lot of the credit he’s got with his play in the last little while.”
If the Flames are going to make the playoffs, it is going to be because of Markstrom’s strong goaltending. Hopefully, Markstrom and his teammates will work together to give themselves a shot at playing for hockey’s Holy Grail come April.
