Jacob Markstrom And Dan Vladar Are The Best Goalie Tandem In Hockey
The Calgary Flames have hit home runs in net. While it helps that the team in front of them is very good, the Flames netminders have been rock solid. The veteran Jacob Markstrom and the young gun Dan Vladar have helped get Calgary to the top of the Pacific. There are plenty of teams who wish they had one of these guys right now, and the Flames are fortunate enough to have both. Let’s get into what the Flames have going for them.
Jacob Markstrom
Markstrom is 26-11-6 with a 2.14 GAA (goals against average) and a very good .926 save percentage. He’s been the alpha despite being 32 years old. Vancouver allowed him to walk away after the playoffs in the bubble because they thought he didn’t have it anymore, and because Thatcher Demko put on a show. Markstrom signed with the Flames pretty quickly and it’s worked out for both teams. His first year was bumpy but the Flames weren’t that good as a whole. He’s looked really good this year and has been getting a lot of opportunities. The approach is the same that Tampa Bay has with Andrei Vasilevskiy - giving him the bulk of the reps because he can handle it. There is no question that he will be in net for the playoff run.
Dan Vladar
Dan Vladar is 8-4-1 with a 2.96 GAA and a respectable .900 save percentage in his first year with the Flames. If you don’t know the Flames roster all that well but his name sounds familiar, this might be why. Vladar was with the Bruins and looked to be the future in net for a while. Since Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak were injured, he got his chance. He was sent back to Providence after being in net for a 8-1 drumming by the Capitals which in part made way for Jeremy Swayman. He went 2-2-1 with Boston and was traded to Calgary in the offseason in exchange for a 2023 third round pick. He became the Flames backup right away and has overall looked solid. His compete level and performances when it net should earn him a lot of respect in the locker room. Vladar probably won’t see much of an uptick in his playing time at least for this season, but there is a lot of upside to his game.
Goaltending Wins Championships
Calgary is in better shape than teams like Toronto for this reason. Sure, the Leafs are a fireworks show on offense and you need scoring to be successful. But, it doesn’t matter how many goals you score if the other team scores more than you. The Flames knew what they had to address and did so instead of denying the problem (cough cough Maple Leafs and Oilers). It also sets them up for the future when Markstrom decides to hang up the pads. Vladar is only 24 years old and he’s only going to get better. He is the future in net for the Flames, and is under contract for at least two more years since he signed an extension with Boston after the 2020 season. The Flames look like a serious cup contender right now in large part because of the stability in net.
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