Jacob Markstrom’s stat line doesn’t reflect impact for Flames

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With 33 stops in Monday’s stalwart performance against the Florida Panthers, Jacob Markstrom’s save percentage finally nudged north of .900.

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If he earns the ‘W’ in his next start, his win-loss record will be back to .500.

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Even Ebenezer Scrooge would tell you Markstrom deserves more credit than his current numbers would suggest. His stat-line certainly doesn’t illustrate his impact so far this season for the Calgary Flames. Not even close.

“He’s been unbelievable,” said Flames first-line centre Elias Lindholm, one of Markstrom’s closest pals. “The overall numbers maybe haven’t been there, where he wants them. But obviously there have been some games where we’ve given up a ton of chances, and he’s always been there. You know, you can’t save all of them. But when we need him, he’s always there.”

As the Flames packed up Wednesday for a two-game, home-just-in-time-for-the-holidays roadie, they were talking about the opportunity to move back to .500 (and beyond), to keep themselves close in the wildcard race in the Western Conference.

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There’s plenty of reason for optimism. While this isn’t the most talented troupe, their fans rarely feel shortchanged on effort or resilience. The Flames now seem settled with the switch to a zone-style defensive scheme. And while the stats haven’t always shown it, their starting twine-minder has been among their most consistent performers since the start of the season.

Markstrom was adamant about bouncing back from a frustrating campaign in 2022-23, and he’s definitely done that.

On Monday, returning from a seven-game absence due a fractured finger, the 33-year-old puck-stopper was hailed as first star in a 3-1 victory over the Panthers. Afterward, as he praised his teammates for their selfless shot-blocking efforts, gave a glowing review of the penalty kill and shrugged off a crucial late save as no big deal, a reporter mentioned that he seemed to be underselling his own heroics.

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He grinned.

“You want me to lie and hype myself up?” he replied. “It’s a big team win.”

Markstrom, who turns 34 next month, is never one to hype himself up. And, as his position coach Jason LaBarbera summed up: “That’s what makes a good goalie a good teammate.”

And a good leader.

“I always say that I think Marky is a Top-3 or Top-5 goalie in the league,” said Flames defence workhorse Rasmus Andersson. “And it’s not just on the ice. It’s his presence in the locker room.”

Andersson offered up an example from earlier this fall, when there were still some growing pains with the transition from man-to-man to zone coverage. There was a particular play that resulted in a goal for the other guys, and he wanted to check with the masked man about whether he should have handled it differently.

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“I can’t remember which game it was, but I asked him about a situation and he goes, ‘It doesn’t matter, I should have saved that anyways,’ ” Andersson recalled, mimicking Markstrom’s scowl. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s not what I meant but … ’

“He is always his own toughest critic. You can’t hold anyone else accountable if you don’t hold yourself accountable first, and that’s the mindset we’re trying to have around here. He’s one of the leaders in this room. He holds us all accountable, and he holds himself accountable too.”

Heading into Thursday’s matchup with the Anaheim Ducks (8 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), Markstrom owns a 7-8-2 record with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Those are middle-of-the-pack stats.

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Dig a little deeper, though, and you will discover numbers that paint a more accurate picture.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Markstrom’s high-danger save percentage is .850. Across the NHL, there are only a handful of regulars turning aside more shooters in those knee-knocking scenarios. The league average is just .795.

Markstrom’s high-danger save percentage at five-on-five is even better, at .873.

“That’s a real big thing for your team,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska prior to Wednesday’s outbound flight. “There are certain points of a game where you lose momentum and if your players know that if there’s a mistake that gets made, that someone is there to back you up …

“When players know that their goaltender is on and he is feeling good about his game, he’s going to stop a lot of those shots that we don’t want to be giving up. Right from the beginning of the year, he has been that guy for us, so it allows the team to feel confident in front of him that if there were a mistake, there’s a pretty good chance he’s going to bail them out.”

He’s done that, even if the stats don’t necessarily show it.

Wes Gilbertson and Danny Austin have been covering the Flames for years and know what makes the team tick. Have questions? They have the answers – or the contacts to track them down. Send your questions to calgaryflames@postmedia.com

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