Jacob Markstrom, a 6′6″ 35-year-old Swedish goalie for the New Jersey Devils has seen some ups and downs lately. After being traded to the Devils in June by the Calgary Flames for a first-round pick in the 2025 Draft and veteran defenseman Kevin Bahl, the goalie’s performance has fluctuated greatly. Fans are wondering what the reason for these struggles is.
Many suspect this could be because of the injury Markstrom sustained back in January in a game against the Bruins. After a collision with Justin Brazeau in the crease, Markstrom sustained an MCL sprain, which required 4-6 weeks of recovery. After leaving the team after the matchup to recover, Markstrom took a little less than 6 weeks and returned May 2 in their matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Because of the injury sustained, Markstrom missed his opportunity to play for Sweden in the Four Nations Faceoff, instead taking that time to recover and rest to prepare for the rest of the regular season. While out, Nico Daws and Jake Allen took his place, together earning 6 wins and 5 losses during Markstrom’s recovery.
Since his return, his save percentage has decreased decently game by game. His first game back, a confident save percentage of .917 against the Golden Knights eased the team’s worries about a rocky start. Since then, his save percentage has reduced all the way down to .739 in their recent matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he let up six of the seven goals against the Devils. This is the lowest we’ve seen from the goaltender this season, and raising reason for concern.
Many fans are concerned if he had returned too soon from his injury, and is struggling due to lack of proper recovery, or if this is just a slump that he will work himself out of. Will Markstrom be back in the starting lineup again for Thursday’s game against his previous teammates, or will the Devils opt for more consistent options such as Allen or Daws?
