RALEIGH, N.C. - Jacob Markstrom returned to the Florida Panthers after 4,955 days away and looked like he never left, stopping all 15 shots he faced Tuesday in a 1-0 overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes to open the NHL season.
The 36-year-old goaltender, originally drafted by Florida in the second round - 31st overall - of the 2008 NHL Draft, became the fourth-oldest goalie in NHL history to post a shutout in a season opener. It was also his sixth career win in a season-opening game.
“I thought we played a great game,” Markstrom said. “Everyone, the whole lineup, you know, all four lines and all six D played really good. They made my job a lot easier.”
Of his 15 saves, four were classified as high-danger by NaturalStatTrick.com. His most critical stop came just past the midway point of the second period, when he denied Hurricanes star center Sebastian Aho on a shorthanded breakaway, with Aho attempting to go five-hole and coming up empty.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling delivered the win with the game-winning goal with only 4.3 seconds remaining in overtime. “He felt very calm back there,” Forsling said. “He made some unbelievable saves.”
Markstrom’s path back to Sunrise was a long one. The Gavle, Sweden native was traded by the Panthers to the Vancouver Canucks in 2013 and subsequently played for the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils before the Panthers reacquired him from New Jersey this past summer.
“Super stoked, super excited, that I am back,” Markstrom said after the trade was completed in July. “It’s a crazy business. But the same way I didn’t think I was going to get traded 12 years ago or however long it was, I didn’t think I was going to get traded back.”