Jacob Markstrom stole the spotlight last night in the New Jersey Devils’ 4–1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. The win snapped the team’s two-game losing streak, with Markstrom stopping 43 of the 44 shots he faced.
The timing couldn’t have been better for the veteran goaltender. Just one day earlier, the Devils announced they had signed Markstrom to a two-year, $12 million extension, securing their goaltending tandem for the next few years.
When the deal was announced, Markstrom shared his appreciation for the Devils franchise with NHL.com.
“You want to give back the appreciation to the Blitzer family, Fitzy, and management. They believe in me — you want to repay that,” Markstrom said. “Especially after the last game in Colorado wasn’t a good one. To just park that and move forward, and get a win tonight, that was huge.”
The deal was finalized late on Halloween night, but another matter had been haunting Devils fans- Markstrom’s performance since returning from injury.
After suffering an injury on October 13, Markstrom made his return to the lineup on October 28 against the Colorado Avalanche. The comeback didn’t go as planned. The Devils fell 8–4 after being shut out for two periods.
Safe to say, that wasn’t how anyone expected his first game back to unfold.
Following that loss, head coach Sheldon Keefe told NHL.com:
“Our team was just dreadful in front of (Markstrom) today (…) we could have had two goalies in the net tonight and it wouldn’t have made a difference.”
Markstrom bounced back in dominant fashion against the Kings, showcasing exactly what he’ll bring to the Devils organization over the next few years.
Markstrom wasn’t the only player who stood out last night — Dawson Mercer also delivered a stellar performance, scoring two shorthanded goals. After the game, Mercer praised his goaltender while speaking with NHL.com about the team’s win.
“Oh, it’s unbelievable," Mercer said. “They had a lot of shots there, and ‘Marky,’ he’s played really well, and it all came in good moments. Get the win, have an unbelievable game like that, ‘Marky’ did, and then have that contract signed, and we have him for a few more years now, we’re really excited. So it was definitely a good day.”
The Devils now turn their attention to tonight’s matchup against the Anaheim Ducks, with puck drop set for 8 p.m.