January 28 – On Saturday, the Calgary Flames defeated the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 to end a four-game losing streak, and Jacob Markstrom recorded his second shutout of the year.
The Flames won their last game before the All-Star break thanks to a single goal from Elias Lindholm. Markstrom recorded his 20th career shutout with 32 saves, including 12 in the final period.
The Blackhawks, who have now lost four straight games overall and are winless in their last 20 road games (0-19-1), had goalie Petr Mrazek save thirty shots.
During this now-completed four-game road trip, Chicago, which has been ravaged by injuries—rookie standout Connor Bedard among those sidelined—has been shut out in two straight games and in three of their previous four games. In nine of their last ten games, the Blackhawks have allowed two goals or fewer to be scored, and in those contests, they have only managed 10 goals.
At 15:55 of the second period, Lindholm, who will represent Calgary at the upcoming All-Star festivities, broke a 15-game goalless streak with his first goal on the power play. A defender stopped Yegor Sharangovich’s attempt from the slot, but Lindholm caught the rebound at the side of the net and finished the opportunity for his ninth goal of the year.
Markstrom received high praise for the shutout following a lackluster showing in Calgary’s defeat by the Columbus Blue Jackets two nights prior.
The goalie for Calgary made a number of spectacular saves during the first half of the contest. A few Blackhawks, including Lukas Reichel, Colin Blackwell, Philipp Kurashev, and Boris Katchouk, were denied by him on breakaways or wide-open opportunities.
In the closing seconds of the fight, Markstrom even sealed the victory with game-saving saves on Jason Dickinson and Kurashev.
Mrazek put on a solid display of his own, making significant stops on Andrew Mangiapane and Noah Hanifin to help the Blackhawks stay in the game until the very end.
–Media at the Field Level
