Jacob Markstrom makes a powerful statement following his loss to the Habs
Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom was highly critical of his performance after his team's 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
Markstrom made 17 saves on 19 shots in the loss, the Flames' fourth in their last five games, and allowed the game's first goal just 13 seconds into the first period.
The veteran goaltender ventured well outside his net in an attempt to put Sean Monahan's puck out of reach. The puck eventually fell on the stick of Juraj Slafkovsky, who took advantage of it to score into the empty net.
Flames head coach Darryl Sutter, however, didn't think Markstrom was solely responsible for the mistake.
Then, in the third period, Markstrom hit Josh Anderson and the Canadiens' forward countered with a fake to hit him as well. Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane came to his goalie's defense but earned a roughing penalty.
Cole Caufield scored the eventual game-winning goal on the ensuing power play. Markstrom chose not to comment on the incident.
This season has not been the continuation that many expected for Markstrom after being named a Vezina Trophy finalist for his work last campaign. He currently has a 2.97 goals-against average and .889 save percentage in 2022-23.
The loss to Montreal marked the 11th time this season that Markstrom has posted a save percentage below .900 in a game.
The 32-year-old committed to stepping up his game in November and reiterated that stance on Thursday.
At the other end of the ice, Canadiens goalie Jake Allen made 45 saves as Montreal celebrated Monahan's return to Calgary with a win.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Juraj Slafkovsky will become a star player? | ||
| Yes | 183 | 82.4 % |
| No | 39 | 17.6 % |
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