"I've got to be better": Flames goalie Markstrom admits he's struggled this season
The numbers don’t lie, Jacob Markstrom will freely admit.
And the numbers aren’t good.
The Calgary Flames starting goaltender is sporting a bloated 3.06 goals-against average and .887 save percentage through his first 13 starts of the season — figures that, Markstrom figures, are in dire need of improvement.
“If you only look at the numbers…obviously some games you feel better and the puck just finds a way behind you,” Markstrom told media postgame after a 4-1 setback to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday that featured a questionable beat just 10 seconds after his club had pulled back within one strike.
“But if you look at strictly the numbers, I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to step up here. We’ve got a great team, and we’re playing good, and we’re throwing a lot of pucks on their net, and pucks are going to find a way into their net, and I’ve got to keep them out.”
"We get it back to a one-goal lead and then they score right after that. That can't happen."
Jacob Markstrom talks to the media after the game in Tampa. pic.twitter.com/ALTyfKlGkK
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) November 18, 2022
He’s not wrong.
Markstrom, a Vezina Trophy runner-up a season ago, sits 36th in save percentage among the 42 goaltenders to make at least seven starts this year. His goals-against ranks him only slightly better at 27.Ā He’s not necessarily trending in the right direction, either, registering a save percentage north of .900 in just one of his past six starts.
The 32-year-old does, however, slot 16th — middle of the pack — in goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck, as does his 0.42 wins above replacement, and there have been game-saving efforts like his crazy windmill denial of Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Schiefele, and a clutch Anze Kopitar stop in the dying seconds of a 6-5 win earlier in the week.
Still, the season totals remain figures are a far cry from his .922 save percentage, tied for third overall, or his 2.22 goals-against average, again third best, or even his NHL-leading nine shutouts.
The individual numbers, however, don’t paint the entire picture.
“It’s a team game,” teammate Milan Lucic said. “He has our back, and we have his back. We all know what he’s capable of. He’s one of the best goalies in the league.
“We have full confidence in him, and we want him to have full confidence in himself.”
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