Jacob Markstrom will start for the Florida Panthers on Monday night at home against the Detroit Red Wings. He has missed the past five games with an upper-body injury he suffered in practice on Oct. 19. The team's original timeline was 10 to 14 days. He returned to practice on Oct. 24, and coach Paul Maurice said the goaltender "has been pushing really hard on the ice." Markstrom is the only change from the lineup that beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Friday, so Florida will be playing for a season-high fourth win in a row.
For fantasy managers, Markstrom is a good streaming option this week, with some caveats. Before he got hurt he had a 2.21 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage in six appearances, plus one shutout. His last start was an 8-3 win over Seattle on Oct. 17. The GAA plays well in head-to-head categories. The save percentage is close to his career mark of .906 over 584 regular-season games and doesn't stand out.
Last season is the reason for caution. With New Jersey in 2025-26, Markstrom had a 3.07 GAA and a .883 save percentage in 44 appearances. Those were his worst ratios in about a decade. Injuries also limited him that year: a lower-body injury cost him six games, and the Devils shut him down in early April. In 2024-25 he had a .900 save percentage and a 2.50 GAA over 49 games. That's the level fantasy managers would be happy with now. The early-season GAA suggests that a strong Florida team in front of him can hide a lot. The save percentage suggests he's still giving up close to the average number of goals on the shots he faces.
The bigger question is how Florida will split the crease from here. Sergei Bobrovsky left the Panthers in the summer and signed with Toronto, so the long-time workhorse is gone. Akira Schmid has started most of the games during Markstrom's absence and has five wins in eight appearances with a 2.86 GAA and an .889 save percentage. Those numbers aren't good enough to push Markstrom out of the job, but they're good enough that Maurice can rest a 36-year-old coming off an injury without losing much. The team hasn't said anything about limiting Markstrom's workload. Still, managers shouldn't assume he'll take the second half of any back-to-back or start four games in a week right away.
Monday's matchup looks favourable. The Red Wings had trouble scoring early in the season and averaged about two goals per game over their first several games. Detroit is expected to start former Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov, so Markstrom will need goal support, and Florida has been providing it during this winning streak. A home start against a team that has struggled to score, with a hot team in front of him, is a reasonable bet for a win.
Here's the recommendation. In leagues with 12 or more teams where Markstrom is sitting on the waiver wire, pick him up for Monday and then watch Florida's starting goalie announcements one game at a time. In shallower leagues, treat him as a matchup-based streamer and don't build your roster around him yet. A couple of strong starts would help make the case that he's Florida's clear No. 1. Last season's .883 is a good reason to wait for that before you trust him in every format.