The Canucks recalled Jacob Markstrom from his AHL conditioning stint on Monday, sending Richard Bachman back to the Utica Comets in his place, and they'll be wasting no time in using him. The backup goaltender starts Tuesday versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Tough to argue the decision, and not just because Ryan Miller leads the NHL in starts at 14, and looked shaky in the second of back-to-back games this weekend, so he could probably use the rest right now. If the Canucks want to be able to rely on Markstrom to spot Miller starts throughout the season, they need to make sure he gets the reps necessary to find a rhythm, lest this attempt at transitioning him to the NHL level go about as well as all the previous attempts.
Markstrom is still working through some rust after missing the season's first month with a hamstring injury -- that was clear during his time with the Comets. In his first start, he surrendered four goals in a shootout loss to the Toronto Marlies. But the next night out, a clearly more comfortable Markstrom came back with a much stronger performance, holding the Providence Bruins to just one goal in a 5-1 Comets win.
If the Canucks want to keep him trending in the right direction, they need to avoid the accumulation of any more rust. He can't be a bench ornament like Bachman was. If the team wants him to get his groove back, the best strategy (short of a brief affair with Taye Diggs in Jamaica) is game action, as coach Willie Desjardins noted:
"He is a guy we want to get going," Desjardins said of Markstrom. "It's tough to have that injury, he was playing well in the pre-season. We wanted to get him up and running as soon as we could.
"We have played Miller an awful lot, maybe over-used him a little bit. We want to get someone else going and give Miller a breather."
There's some risk here, of course. Markstrom has historically struggled to replicate his success from other leagues in the NHL. In 2009–10, he was the star of the Elitserien, leading the league in save percentage (.927) and goals against average (2.01). And as he worked his way towards an NHL job, he was a standout with the Florida Panthers' AHL affiliate. But with the Panthers, Markstrom was a mess, and he wasn't much better with the Canucks.
In 50 NHL games played, Markstrom's career save percentage is a woeful .896, and his goals against average is a yucky 3.19.
The Canucks believe they've rebuilt Markstrom, however, guiding him through several modifications over the last few years in the hopes of restoring him to his former glory while setting him up for future NHL success. Watching him in the preseason, it seemed clear that he'd make some upgrades.
But the ill-timed injury is cause for concern. Markstrom knows as well as anybody that he's struggled to make this leap in the past, and now he has to make it while trying to rediscover his rhythm against his biggest foe: NHL shooters in midseason form. That's not easy.
Fortunately, the Columbus Blue Jackets are a good first test. Not quite an AHL team, but not quite an NHL team, they should make for a smooth transition. Markstrom could use one this time around.
