Mackenzie Blackwood’s time with the New Jersey Devils was full of ups and downs. Once regarded as a key piece of the future, his tenure with the team ended with the team trading him to the San Jose Sharks for a sixth-round pick in 2023. He returned to the Rock for the first time since the trade and shut down his former team by stopping 44 shots.
The Devils lost the game 1-0 after a fluke goal by Nico Sturm went in off former Shark Timo Meier. Sturm played the puck behind Devils’ goalie Jake Allen and threw the puck to the front of the net, which bounced off Meier and into the net. Following the comeback win against the Islanders on Saturday, the Devils could not get anything past their former goaltender, including a 6-on-4 power play with Allen pulled for the extra attacker in the game’s final minutes.
The Devils threw everything they could at Blackwood, including 20 shots in the third period. Though the Devils did not have a great first two periods, they came out determined in the third, but nothing got through. The Devils were shut out for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
“Not our night tonight,” said Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe. “It was just not our night tonight. Right from the first period we just weren’t on script.”
It was a stark difference from the Devils’ come-from-behind victory the night before against the New York Islanders, in which the Devils scored two goals in the final minutes to force the game to overtime and win.
The Devils are still off to a much better start to the season than last year, but the Metro Division is tight, with the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, and Washington Capitals all starting hot. These games against the lower-ranking teams matter, and the Devils need to find ways to win them if they hope to be in the playoff picture as the season moves on.
New Jersey played a solid two-way game and got chances against the young Sharks, led by first-round pick Macklin Celebrini, who was limited to zero shots on goal. The game also marked the return of fan-favorite former Devils’ Tyler Toffoli, Fabian Zetterlund, and Vitek Vanecek.
The Devils’ penalty kill unit continued to dominate, stopping all three Sharks’ power plays, but were also 0-for-2 on the power play. The Devils remain at the top of the Metro Division with 22 points but are only two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes, who have five games in hand. The next two games will be a big test for the Devils when they face the Stanley Cup Winners Florida Panthers for two straight games in the Sunshine State.
