Another week, another accolade for Calgary Flames starting netminder Jacob Markstrom. On Monday, he was named the second star of the week by the National Hockey League for his strong performances over the preceding seven days.
Here’s the release from the league:
Markstrom denied 76 of the 78 shots he faced, going 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals-against average, .974 save percentage and one shutout to help the Flames (36-16-7, 79 points) pad their lead atop the Pacific Division. He allowed only one goal in each of his first two starts, making 27 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers March 7 and stopping 30 shots in a 4-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning March 10. Markstrom then capped the week by earning his League-leading ninth shutout of the season – one shy of the franchise record set by Miikka Kiprusoff in 2005-06 – with 19 saves in a 3-0 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings March 12. The 32-year-old Gävle, Sweden, native has appeared in 46 total games this season, also placing among the top performers in goals-against average (3rd; 2.07), save percentage (4th; .928) and wins (t-6th; 28).
It’s the third time this season that Markstrom has been named a weekly star; he was previously twice named a weekly first star (for the weeks of Nov. 1 and Feb. 14). He was also name the NHL’s second star for the month of February. Teammates Johnny Gaudreau (1st star, Nov. 22; 3rd star, Jan. 31) and Elias Lindholm (1st star, Feb. 21) have also received weekly NHL honours this season.