*Photo from Sportsnet*
Jacob Markstrom had been the number one guy in Vancouver for so long. Now, after he signed a 6 year deal with the Calgary Flames, he had this game circled, the first against his old team. He made them look foolish for letting him go in free agency. Markstrom stopped all 32 shots he faced, the offense scored 3 times on the power play, and the Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 on Saturday night.
Calgary started the scoring 8:31 into the first, when Sean Monahan scored on the power play to make it 1-0. It stayed that way until 16:12 of the second, when Dillon Dube scored for Calgary to make it a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd period, at the 15:16 mark, Matthew Tkachuk netted a power play goal to make it 3-0, which held as the final score.
Markstrom said of the win that "It was huge. Great team win. It was weirder than I thought it would be. It's just weird seeing the team you played for for a long time on the other side. I just tried to stay focused on doing my part and just stop the puck, and I thought the guys in front of me played great today."
Braden Holtby took the loss in net for the Canucks despite putting up a solid night, stopping 32 of 35 shots that came his way. Unfortunately, Vancouver's offense couldn't get anything going, most apparent on a 5 on 3 power play in the first inning that resulted in a lot of shots, but nothing that could get past the brick wall of Markstrom.
This game was also special for Flames defensemen Chris Tanev, who, like Markstrom, left Vancouver in free agency to sign with the Flames, although Tanev isn't as big a name as Markstrom. Flames coach Geoff Ward talked about the significance for Tanev and Markstrom, saying that "I thought both guys played exceptionally well tonight. The game was a little bit special for them, but the bigger thing that they'll be talking about is that we had a more complete effort tonight than we did against Winnipeg, so it's a stepping stone for them. We're happy for them, but we're happier with the win and that it was a more complete effort on our part."
The Flames and Canucks face each other again Monday night, once again in Calgary. Markstrom and Holtby are the expected starters again.
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