Mackenzie Blackwood will not be starting in net for the San Jose Sharks on Friday when they play the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
That’s just fine with Blackwood, who has kept his eye on the big picture rather than any special homecoming. Blackwood played his first five seasons in the NHL with the Devils after he was drafted by the team in 2015.
“It’s just another game, really,” Blackwood said Friday morning. “Obviously, I spent a lot of time here, so it’ll be nice to see some of the guys I played with before. But other than that, it’ll probably interesting for me seeing the rink from the other side.”
Blackwood said the Sharks’ coaches came to him about a month ago and asked him whether he wanted to start against his former team. The 6-foot-4 goalie said he didn’t have strong feelings about it one way or another, so the Sharks started him Thursday night against the Boston Bruins and will have Kaapo Kahkonen go tonight against the Devils, who have won three straight.
Blackwood (3-10-2) will see plenty of action soon. Friday’s game is the second on the Sharks’ six-game road trip that continues Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, and Tuesday at UBS Arena against the Islanders.
“I kind of forgot about it, and then it just kind of snuck up on the schedule,” Blackwood said of Friday’s game. “So it doesn’t really matter to me that much, (just go) game to game, right? I just treated this as just another one on the schedule.”
Blackwood had a 65-57-18 record with the Devils from 2018 to 2023. He finished sixth in Calder Trophy voting after the 2019-2020 season when he had a .915 save percentage in 47 games.
But Blackwood had been affected by injuries in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, when his save percentage dipped to .892 and .893, respectively. Healthy again and enjoying his working relationship with Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer, Blackwood’s save percentage, through 17 games, has climbed back up to .903 — impressive considering the Sharks are 5-16-2.
“Obviously, not being hurt allows you to play a lot and get into the rhythm of playing. Not coming in and out of the lineup for a couple of games here and there, (you can) really find your groove,” Blackwood said. “But I’ve had a lot of time with the goalie coach here and it’s been a good relationship and my body feels good. So just getting over the hump of injuries has helped me start to piece some good games together.”
Thursday, Blackwood stopped 34 of 37 shots in the Sharks’ 3-0 loss to the Bruins. Remarkably, he’s already made 502 saves, just one save fewer than he had all last season in 22 games with the Devils.
“It’s been good,” Blackwood said of his time in San Jose. “I’ve had a good couple of months of transitioning there. The staff’s good, teammates are great and living there’s good. So I’ve had a smooth transition. I’m really enjoying it.”