Jacob “King of the Crease” Markstrom
If there is a time for the Canucks MVP Jacob Markstrom to earn his new contract extension, it comes now in this series vs. the defending Stanley Cup champions. Having to be remarkable night in and night out all season long, Markstrom dragged this team into the playoffs, and nothing about his role changes now that they have made it onto the dance floor.
Pitted against last year’s best goaltender Jordan Binnington, Markstrom looked determined to prove he could not only run with the big dogs but thrive and be the alpha, the man. He did not disappoint. Solid from opening puck drop to the final horn, Markstrom kept the puck out when it mattered and made some key saves to keep his team alive (including a double toe save on the line late in the third that had the St. Louis bench considering a challenge).
Keeping his save percentage above 0.935%, he stopped 29 of 31 shots thrown on the net and completely outperformed his counterpart, Binnington. St. Louis targeted the short side more often than normal, but Markstrom shut the door and earned his first official playoff victory. A solid game by the 30-year-old netminder. If he keeps it up the Canucks could shock a lot of hockey fans by eliminating one of the bigger and badder teams in style. The Sky is the limit after that.