Since the All-Star hiatus, the Calgary Flames haven’t had much success, and that’s largely due to the performance of their goaltenders.
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The club has held a 3-4-3 record since February 6 and their pair of masked men are posting a mediocre save rate of .847.
On Saturday, in a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Jacob Markstrom gave up on his rival’s first two shots. It was the seventh time in 39 starts that the Swede was thwarted on the first pitch he received.
“Obviously it’s frustrating,” said Markstrom, whose comments were reported by Sportsnet.
“You want to get a shot that comes from afar. There are no practice shots in a game.”
“I have to be ready if there is a chance to score. I need to save to keep my teammates in game.
When asked about his goaltender’s performance, head coach Darryl Sutter decided not to throw Markstrom under the bus and criticized his team’s overall defensive play.
“I think, you [les joueurs de l’Avalanche] scored goals, the chances of scoring are very high,” replied the driver.
Mea culpa by Nikita Zadorov
Sutter wasn’t the only Flames representative trying to divert attention from his goalie’s performance. Defender Nikita Zadorov claimed that the loss against “Avs” was his fault.
“I take responsibility, this defeat is mine,” he said after the game.
“I was on the ice for three of their goals and that’s unacceptable.”
“I was in a bad position for the first goal. On the second I should have blocked the puck and on the third I was simply bypassed.
“It was one of the worst times for the worst game of my career,” added the defender.
It is indeed a very bad time to see failures with the Flames trying to carve out a spot among the teams that will make the playoffs in the West. Before Sunday’s National League matchup, Alberta was four points behind the Minnesota Wild, the bottom-ranked playoff team in their conference.
The Flames return to action Tuesday night when the mighty Bruins visit the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Boston club leads the Bettman Tour standings with a 45-8-5 record.