diff --git a/src/pkg/compress/flate/deflate.go b/src/pkg/compress/flate/deflate.go
index 1e725890b73..8505da706c9 100644
--- a/src/pkg/compress/flate/deflate.go
+++ b/src/pkg/compress/flate/deflate.go
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ func (d *compressor) fillDeflate(b []byte) int {
 		if d.blockStart >= windowSize {
 			d.blockStart -= windowSize
 		} else {
-			d.blockStart = skipNever
+			d.blockStart = math.MaxInt32
 		}
 		d.hashOffset += windowSize
 	}