Former Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom has save of the year candidate in season opener

The Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils opened up the 2024-25 season on Friday in Prague, Czechia as part of the National Hockey League's Global Series.

It was a big moment for the league, returning to Czechia for the third time under the 'Global Series' brand, which made its debut back in 2017. For the New Jersey Devils, who had a busy summer, it was an opportunity to show that they're ready to make a push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year after missing out in 2023-24.

A number of New Jersey's additions over the summer made their Devils debut on Friday including former Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who made his mark on his new team pretty quickly.

With just under three minutes remaining in the opening frame, Jacob Markstrom made what may end up being the save of the year for the 2024-25 season and it was only the first game of the new campaign.

Amid a scramble in front of the Devils net, the puck bounced off the back boards and right to Buffalo Sabres forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel. As Aube-Kubel attempts to put the puck into the open cage, Markstrom reaches his stick across the crease and stops it from going past the goal line.

After four seasons with the Calgary Flames, Markstrom was dealt to the New Jersey Devils in June for defenceman Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick, a pretty solid return for Craig Conroy's group. There were trade rumours swirling regarding Markstrom all season long, but a deal wasn't able to be made prior to the NHL's deadline in March. With Dustin Wolf ready for a full-time role on the Flames roster, the team felt it was time to move on from Markstrom.

The Devils now have two veteran goaltenders they can rely on this season - Markstrom and Jake Allen, as they look to get back to being a playoff team. Along with Markstrom, the Devils also added Brenden Dillon, Brett Pesce and Tomas Tatar this summer.

The Devils and Sabres will wrap up their second game of the Global Series on Saturday before returning to North America for their respective home openers on Thursday, October 10th.