It seems almost impossible that Jacob Markstrom went as long as he did without a shutout. It’s especially absurd when you consider some of the goaltenders who posted a shutout in their first ever NHL game.
Consider Mike Fountain, the Canucks’ 45th overall pick in the 1992 draft. Fountain made his debut for the Canucks on November 14, 1996. He made 40 saves to record the shutout and not only that, he nearly scored a goal, sending a puck just wide on an empty net late in the game.
After that memorable beginning to his career, Fountain played just 10 more games in the NHL. He went from a 1.000 save percentage and 0.00 goals against average to .880 and 3.48 to end his career.
What it took Fountain just one game to accomplish took Markstrom 129 games.
But he did it. He finally did it. Just one game after a shutout was wrenched from his grasp with just three minutes remaining, Markstrom posted his first career shutout. I witnessed history when I watched this game.
- Markstrom was full value for the shutout, making 12 saves in the first period to keep the score tied at zero, then closing the game out with 13 saves in the third period. He downplayed the accomplishment, suggesting he might have appreciated it more when he was younger. “Early in the career, I had a couple really close ones,” he said. “I was 21 years old, and then you really wanted it, a shutout in the NHL, and then it just kinda went away, that urge… I just wanted to win hockey games. I just kinda accepted it, not getting one.”
- Markstrom was magnificent. He robbed Justin Williams on two fantastic chances, one in the first after a Ben Hutton turnover at the Hurricanes blue line, then again with a magnificent glove save after Williams picked Sam Gagner’s pocket in the defensive zone. His best save came on Derek Ryan, as the centre burned past Troy Stecher and tried to pull the puck around Markstrom, but he stretched out his leg like Ralph Dibny and held the puck out at the post.
- The Canucks got two shots in the first 12 seconds, looking like they were going to smother the Hurricanes with their relentless attack, but, like Usain Bolt in the 2011 World Championships, it was a false start. Those two quick shots were deceitful, as they got just one shot in the next 19 minutes and 48 seconds, and it came 3:35 into the period. That’s over 16 minutes without a single shot on goal, including a full two minutes on the power play.
- Markstrom was the biggest story of the game, but Derrick Pouliot also had his best game as a Canuck. He played over 20 minutes, was smooth in transition, and put up the first three-point game of his career. Maybe that’s not as momentous as Markstrom’s first shutout in 129 games, but it’s still pretty neat. It’s like a side order of mashed potatoes with a steak; it’s not the main attraction, but well-made mashed potatoes are really good.
- Derrick Pouliot’s opening goal came against the flow and his shot went back the opposite way he was skating, so it was also against the grain. It looked like a goal out of Junior hockey, as you can’t usually cut to the slot that easily in the NHL, but Pouliot froze Haydn Fleury with q quick fake, giving him plenty of space to step inside, then pick out the top corner on Scott Darling’s glove side.
- Jake Virtanen had an odd game, which seems to happen every odd-numbered game or so. He showed some great speed and had a game-high four shots on goal, but his shot selection was frustrating. One one shift, he took two shots from the outside, then when he got a chance to get into the slot, he made a drop pass instead of getting the puck on net. But his improved play away from the puck saw Green trust him more in the third period and he finished with his highest ice time of the season, at 14:36. He seems right on the verge of everything clicking.
- Brock Boeser appears to be in his first “slump” of the season, as he’s pointless in four of the last five games. Of course, in the one game he did score, he picked up three points, and he has still yet to go more than two games without a point, but by his standards this season, this is a slump. He came ever-so-close to scoring in this one, tipping a shot off the post, but close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and halitosis.
- Not too long ago, a power play goal would have been cause for celebration and revelry; now they’ve become expected. The second unit came through in this game when Thomas Vanek got tippier than Al Gore's wife riding a unicycle in a canoe, deflecting Sam Gagner’s slap shot up over Darling to give the Canucks a 2-0 lead.
- The Canucks have to hope that Bo Horvat’s “small injury” is as small as Travis Green suggests. He created some of the most exciting moments of the game, breaking out his trusty BoHoToedrag to draw a penalty in the first period, then sneaking behind the defence for a breakaway early in the second period as a Canucks penalty expired. The Canucks may have kept him out of the back half of the third period for precautionary reasons, so flipping the pool isn’t necessary just yet.
- Even with the injury, but he still finished with 24 faceoffs, with the rest of the Canucks taking 29 combined. With the Canucks defending a lead, you can be sure he would have taken even more in the third period if he was available.
- Before Horvat left the game, he gave Goldobin a great setup for a goal. He spun his way free of two Hurricanes checkers, then found Goldobin in the slot, at which point Goldobin made like a poker table with someone all-in and displayed his hands. He deked out Jordan Staal on the flop, hit the post on the turn, then hit one of his outs on the river, cashing in on the rebound.
- There were some tense moments in the final minutes, as the Hurricanes pressed hard to get a goal, but the Canucks helped Markstrom out by only allowed two shots on goal in the final nine minutes, even if the Hurricanes did get some great scoring chances on which they missed the net. Without Horvat, Sam Gagner had to double-shift with Boeser and Goldobin and he knew what was at stake. “Marky has played so well for us all year,” said Gagner. “Obviously with the shutout on the line there, we wanted to play for Marky. Make sure we were getting pucks in deep, not turning anything over, and shutting things down."
- Gagner isn’t known for the defensive side of his game — quite the opposite, in fact — but he thinks he’s improving defensively. “I feel comfortable in that role,” he said, “I feel like I’m taking a lot of steps to be better in those situations.”
