Devils’ Jacob Markstrom expected to start for Sweden against Finland
A potential change between the pipes for Tre Kronor.
Per reports from practice on Thursday, goaltender Jacob Markstrom is expected to be the starter for Sweden in its all-important Group B matchup with rival Finland on Friday.
Looks like Jacob Markstrom will start Game 2 for Sweden 🇸🇪 (FRI vs. 🇫🇮)
Based on practice, Jacob Markstrom getting his own net while Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt sharing the other, looks like Markstrom is in line to start for Sweden against Finland.
It will be the New Jersey Devils netminder’s first start in these Winter Olympics. Filip Gustavsson got the call for the Swedes’ first game on Wednesday against host Italy. While Sweden was able to come away with a win, it wasn’t necessarily a strong performance from Gustavsson. Including a disastrous miscue that led to Italy’s first goal of the game, the Minnesota Wild backstop gave up two goals on 22 shots, relying on the team in front of him to score its way to a 5-2 victory.
Markstrom made Sweden’s Olympic roster for the first time in his career, but this isn’t the first time he has represented his country on the international stage. He was supposed to play at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, but an injury led to him being replaced by Samuel Ersson. Markstrom returned to the blue and yellow last spring at the IIHF Men’s World Championship, driving the team to a bronze medal.
Along with last year’s performance, the Gävle native has tasted great success on the international stage. He won gold at the 2013 Men’s Worlds and 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial (now known as the Hlinka Gretzky Cup). Markstrom is a two-time bronze medalist at the senior world championships, winning silver and bronze at the 2009 and 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships, respectively. He also played for Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
With the Devils this season, the 36-year-old has a 15-13-1 record, with a 3.20 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage.
Puck drop between Sweden and Finland is set for 6:10 a.m. ET on Friday.