NHL’s first star Markstrom big reason Flames should be feared (+)

Jacob Markstrom is used to being selected as a star in his second season with the Calgary Flames. He has shutouts in three of his last four games and just one of the 127 shots he’s faced in that span have slipped past him into the net. Not surprisingly, the Flames goaltender has been chosen for an extra post-game spin as the first star in every single one of those contests.

And on Monday, the league recognized Markstrom as NHL first star for last week’s impressive showing – with Drake Batherson and Alex Killorn finishing second and third.

Two shutouts in three games will do that for a goalie.

Markstrom started with a 5-1 win over the New York Rangers and finished with back-to-back shutouts against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. He stopped 93 of 94 shots in those three games.

That doesn’t even include the 3-0 shutout in Detroit, where he made all 33 saves.

If anyone is surprised by his performances since being admittedly unhappy in his losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks to start the season, they haven’t been paying enough attention to the 31-year-old Swede’s abilities over the years.