San Jose Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood of Thunder Bay, Ontario recorded his ninth career National Hockey League shutout on Tuesday. He accomplished the feat in a 2-0 Sharks win over the Seattle Kraken at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Blackwood made 32 saves for the shutout. He made 13 saves in the first period, five saves in the second period, and 14 saves in the third period.
Offensively, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Marc-Edouard Vlasic of Montreal, Quebec scored the game-winning goal at 7:27 of the third period. Defenceman Ty Emberson and William Eklund picked up the assists. Vlasic won the gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. The Sharks did not generate much offensively over the first two periods. They only had a combined eight shots on goal before having 14 shots in the third period.
In 2023-24, Blackwood has a record of eight wins, 17 regulation losses and three losses in extra time. He has a goals against average of 3.51 and a save percentage of .899.
This was Blackwood’s first shutout with the Sharks. His previous eight career NHL shutouts were with the New Jersey Devils. This is Blackwood’s first season in San Jose after five seasons in New Jersey. He was traded by the Devils to the Sharks on June 27 for a sixth round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
