Markstrom starts Sunday vs. Devils; Canucks ‘hopeful’ Vrbata will return

Photo Credit: Bob Frid/USA TODAY Sports

On the heels of a 6-3 victory over the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, the Vancouver Canucks will host old pal Cory Schneider and the New Jersey Devils on Sunday at Rogers Arena. It’s the Canucks’ fourth set of back-to-back games this season, and for only the second time this campaign, starter Ryan Miller will get the second leg off.

Canucks backup Jacob Markstrom will get the start against the Devils, head coach Willie Desjardins announced on Sunday afternoon following an optional skate. Meanwhile the club is hopeful that Radim Vrbata – who says he’s ready to go – will return to the lineup following a two-game absence with what’s reportedly a groin injury. 

After missing the first five weeks of the season with a hamstring injury, Markstrom has stopped pucks pretty well upon his return to the NHL. If we remove 3-on-3 from the equation, which I’m convinced we should in evaluating goaltenders, Markstrom has allowed six goals against on 77 shots faced – which is good for a .922 save percentage.

The 25-year-old goaltender has yet to really establish himself as a reliable option at the NHL level, but I tend to think he’s shown enough already that we should be confident in his abilities to be at least an average backup. It’s clear that Markstrom has the resume, speed, size and technical ability to be a good puck stopper at the NHL level. In lieu of any other explanation for why Markstrom has been so dominant at every level save for the show, it seems likely that his past issues were between the ears.

If we accept that hypothesis, then the fact that Markstrom has already been able to hold his own in a tough building like le Centre Bell and straight up stole a game in Columbus indicates already, despite the small sample, that he’s less likely to just revert back to the sub-.900 guy he’s been in his first 50 NHL appearances than he is to be within spitting distance of average. 

That Markstrom has been solid in the early going should allow the Canucks to rest Miller more often, which is a huge deal for Vancouver. Miller, 35, leads the NHL in minutes played this season. If the club plans to ride him down the stretch, and they definitely do, plugging Markstrom in for 20 or more games is going to be essential.

“We’ll change our rotation a little bit,” Desjardins told reporters following Vancouver’s overtime loss in Montreal last week. “Miller won’t be playing quite as much here in back-to-back games or anything like that.”

As for Vrbata, despite his insistence that he’ll play on Sunday, based on his head coach’s comments it seems that he’ll be a game-time decision. He should probably be considered ‘probable’ for Sunday night’s game.