Markstrom stopped 19 of 21 shots winning his second straight game Tuesday as Calgary beat Vegas 3-2. Calgary is undefeated at 3-0-0 but Markstrom has not looked his usual self, amassing a .891 SV% and a 2.50 GAA in two winning starts so far in 2022-23. His Flames will host the 2-1-0 Buffalo Sabres who are coming off a 4-2 victory over Edmonton on Thursday.
Ekblad left Monday's game with a lower-body injury and has landed on LTIR, which means he'll miss at least 10 goals or 24 days. The Panthers have yet to provide a timeline on his injury but this is obviously terrible news for a team that was already thin on the blueline.
Markstrom draws back into the Flames crease Tuesday as they host the Vegas Golden Knights in a battle of the undefeated in Calgary. Markstrom stopped 22 of 25 shots in an impressive opening-night win over the Colorado Avalanche. He will look to keep the Flames in the win column yet again against a Vegas team that has only given up five goals in their first three games.
Marchand took part in practice for the first time on Sunday, which was a great sign that he could be available ahead of schedule in recovery. He's still not close to returning to game action, but he may miss the minimum amount of time on LTIR (10 games or 24 days).
Markstrom missed Wednesday's practice due to illness but will still take the crease as the Flames take on the Avalanche who are playing their second game in as many nights. Markstrom is coming off an incredible 2021-22 season finishing second in Vezina voting after finishing fourth in wins (37), third in save percentage (.922), and third in GAA (2.22) across the entire NHL. He takes on the hefty task of containing last year's Stanley Cup Champions a night after they put five goals on the board against Chicago.
Calgary has announced that their prized starter is out with an illness and will not practice Thursday morning. Markstrom is coming off a massive 2021-22 season which saw him finish second in Vezina voting behind only Igor Shesterkin. The 32-year-old netminder finished fourth in wins (37), third in save percentage (.922), and third in GAA (2.22) across the entire NHL. The Flames will hope to have their all-start goaltender back as soon as possible with Dan Vladar manning the crease in the meantime.
Marchand had surgery on both hips in May with an expected recovery timeline of approximately six months. That would put Marchand on track to return around American Thanksgiving. Expect the Bruins to roll with a top line of Taylor Hall, David Krejci and David Pastrnak while Marchand is out. He should miss roughly 20-to-25 games.
