'Marky Was Unbelievable'

On any given night, big saves can be just as important as big goals.

On Wednesday, Jacob Markstrom delivered.

The Flames puck-stopper turned aside 35 shots in Calgary's 5-3 win over Winnipeg, stopping chance after chance in the first period, before standing tall late with the game in the balance.

Those 35 saves serve as an early-season statement, with the Flames now set to embark on a five-game Eastern road trip with an opening-night win under their belt.

Markstrom's teammates were all cognizant of his impact on Wednesday's performance, which included a perfect 14 saves while shorthanded as well as a sliding pad save off Jets forward Cole Perfetti in the final moments of period two.

Forward Andrew Mangiapane had a two-goal, three-point performance, and was quick to credit his netminder for the two points.

"Marky was awesome," he said. "He’s a big part of our team, when you see him dialled in like that it’s awesome to see.

"Shots were probably 12-2 to start the game, and he was standing on his head throughout the whole game.

"It’s a big game for him, but we’re going to need a lot more of those from him."

At the other end of the ice, forward Elias Lindholm helped secure the two points with the game-winning goal, slotting home a shot from just outside the Jets crease with 1:31 to play to break a 3-3 deadlock.

Scoring heroics aside, Lindholm was happy to heap praise upon his countryman Markstrom.

"Marky was unbelievable," said Lindholm. "We found a way to win and he made some unbelievable saves. It wasn’t pretty out there, but we got the two points and that’s all that matters."

Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska pointed to the first half of the first period as perhaps Markstrom's shining moment, during which he stared down several slot chances.

"You look at the first ten minutes, it could have been significantly different for us if not for him being ready to play," Huska noted. "He did a great job for us tonight, as expected.

"I believe in him as much or more than anybody on our team," he added. "He knows that we have all sorts of trust and faith in him. He’s an elite goaltender and when he’s at his best he’s very hard to beat."