Three positives from win over Panthers that bode well for Flames

2. Jacob Markström dialled in

Jacob Markström was sterling between the pipes for the Flames, putting in a performance reminiscent of November when he was consistently on fire. It was the first time Markström earned a save percentage of .966 or higher since he backstopped the team to a lopsided 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks on Jan. 2 (.968). The win improved his record against Eastern Conference teams to 9-4-2, five of which coming in the form of goose eggs.

Let’s for a moment put aside our hankering for analytics and focus squarely on his otherworldly performance against the league’s highest scoring team. To put the impressiveness of his outing into context, the Panthers had scored 50 goals in eight previous games. That’s a lot of scoring, even more than Leonardo DiCaprio (AKA Jordan Belfort) on Wolf of Wall Street. The Swedish netminder almost kept Florida off the scoresheet entirely. Incarceration was the only thing that kept Belfort from scoring in Wolf on Wall Street. On second thought, I’m sure he scored in jail too, albeit against his will.

Markström, with his german short-haired pointer-like reaction time, was aggressive, positionally sound and, like the rest of his team, battled for everything.

The Flames are in for a fruitful ride if Markström maintains that Vezina-like form.