Markstrom suffers apparent injury at Flames practice after puck hits hand
Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom appeared to injure his hand during practice this morning.
The 33-year-old Swede apparently made an impressive save but was hurt in the process, with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reporting that he left the ice with what appeared to be a bloody finger.
Plenty of blood pouring from what appeared to be Markstromās finger. https://t.co/97wJGnBPdA
— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) December 4, 2023
TSN’s Salim Valji added to this report, saying that Markstrom appeared to have taken a puck off the unprotected part of his right hand and “sprinted” to the bench immediately after. Flames GM Craig Conroy was spotted following Markstrom into the dressing room.
Quick check in from the Saddledome about Jacob Markstrom leaving the ice after taking a puck off the unpadded part of his right hand at this morningās practice #flames pic.twitter.com/DjQe3BPckm
— Salim Nadim Valji (@salimvalji) December 4, 2023
Following practice, Flames head coach Ryan Huska did not have a concrete update on Markstrom’s condition.
“He’s gone to get looked at, we’ll go from there,” Huska told reporters.
Losing Markstrom for an extended period will be the latest hit to the Flames. The former Vancouver Canucks goalie has started in 16 games for Calgary this season. He started the year off strong but has cooled off with a 6-8-2 record and a .896 save percentage.
He would also be the second regular the team would lose in the past week, after trading defenceman Nikita Zadorov to the Canucks in exchange for a couple of mid-round draft picks.
A prolonged injury would force Calgary to decide who will be starting games for the next little while. Dan Vladar has been with the team all season, starting in seven games and carrying a mediocre .883 save percentage.
The Flames would most likely call up Dustin Wolf from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers as well. He appeared in one NHL game this season, where he allowed four goals on 34 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on November 11.
The Flames are back in action tomorrow night as the struggling Minnesota Wild visit the Saddledome. The starting goaltender for that game has not been revealed.