With Markstrom’s play improving, Flames forwards must find form

The good news for Calgary Flames fans is that goalie Jacob Markstrom appears to have turned a corner in his game.

Including Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks, Markstrom has a .934 percentage over his past three games with a goals-against average of 1.96. Beyond the numbers, he’s back to making big saves at pivotal moments and giving his team momentum.

The bad news is that he’s got just one victory over that stretch, and 30 games into the season the Flames are two games above .500 – well short of expectations in a season that is now close to 40 per cent done.

Markstrom wasn’t quite willing to offer a self-assessment after Wednesday’s loss, instead expressing his disappointment in another game that got away as the team’s losing streak hit four games.

“It’s as frustrating as a loss,” he said, when asked about his strong form in the defeat and if that made it easier to digest. “It doesn’t matter how it comes. You want to win, and you play to win and when you don’t, it’s frustrating…it’s a loss, you go through it, then you move on.”

Ahead of the game, Blake Coleman and MacKenzie Weegar came to the defence of their goalie, who earned a Vezina Trophy nomination last season for his stellar play. Teammates have also lauded Markstrom for helping change the culture of the group when he signed in Calgary in 2021.

After Wednesday’s game, Dillon Dube did not mince words.

"I think we’re beating it to death here,” he said. “Everyone in this room knows how great a goalie he is, especially what he’s done in this league. I don’t think there should be any questions about him anymore. He’s a spectacular goalie and he kept us in the last two games."

Through these first 30 games, head coach Darryl Sutter has consistently praised the team’s process and work ethic, saying that the results are inevitable – but key players have to step up.

“This whole month has clearly been our best month,” Sutter said. “We have points in six of the eight games. So, the difference is the difference-maker, right? You get to the extra or late opportunities, whether it’s a power play or overtime or shootouts. That’s where your best players got to be difference-makers.”

Prized free-agent signing Nazem Kadri has a similar view of things.

“It’s a long year and I think it’s just important to keep those emotions balanced,” he said. “We like some of the things we do out there but ultimately, you’d like to finish the job. But those bounces are going to bounce in our favour eventually. It’s a long season and getting down on yourself or thinking you’re better than you are, both sides of the spectrum can be dangerous. With some experience, you learn that. And I think we have the right attitude in here.”

Kadri is fresh off having his name engraved on the Stanley Cup and has generally been the voice of calm for a Flames team managing hefty expectations. But 30 games in, the Flames are not in the playoffs and are trending towards being in a fight for a wild-card spot at the end of the season.

With Markstrom showing signs of rediscovering his form, the forwards must now follow suit. Right now, they are 22nd in goals per game, 23rd in power-play percentage, and 16th in high-danger scoring chance percentage – significant steps back from last season where they were sixth, 10th, and fourth in those categories.

Jonathan Huberdeau is on pace for fewer than 20 goals and 60 points after scoring 30 times and notching 115 points last season. Elias Lindholm (nine goals) has taken a step back offensively after his 40-goal campaign, and Andrew Mangiapane (seven goals) isn’t producing close to his 35-goal season that warranted a three-year extension that more than doubled his salary.

“We’ve gotta bear down,” Dube said. “We need these points. When you’re playing good in tight games, you’ve gotta find a way to win. That’s what really good teams do, and we need to get to that and bear down and we’ll be good.

The reality is that If Dube and his teammates don’t do that soon, Markstrom’s improved play ultimately won’t matter.