After injury, Blackwood happy to feel normal again
The Sharks will be looking to end a nine-game losing streak Saturday when they play the desperate St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.
Considering the Sharks' overall lack of firepower right now, it won't be easy.
But the Sharks do have their No. 1 goalie back in Mackenzie Blackwood, whose steadying presence should help give his team a chance to remain competitive on a nightly basis.
That was the case Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild as Blackwood's early heroics allowed the Sharks to find their legs after a rocky start.
Blackwood made 14 firstperiod saves – including 10 on the penalty kill -- as the Sharks managed just one shot against the Wild in the game's opening 20 minutes. Mikael Granlund then tied the game for the Sharks in the second period, but a Matt Boldy goal early in the third period proved to be the winner as the Wild handed San Jose a 3-1 loss.
The Sharks had 17 shots in the third period but could not beat Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson a second time. Blackwood finished with 29 saves as the Sharks fell to 2-16-3 since a two-week break in mid-February.
“Anytime (Blackwood's) in the net, he's a guy who gives us a chance to win every night,” Sharks winger Justin Bailey said. “After a first period like that, where they have two power plays, he's able to keep it at one and that gives us confidence going into the next period that we can claw our way back into it.
“Our response in the second and third periods was much better.”
Blackwood missed 11 games from Feb. 29 to March 19 after he suffered a groin injury in a Feb. 27 game against the New Jersey Devils.
Blackwood returned for the Sharks' game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 21 but allowed four goals on 21 shots. He also wasn't sharp Tuesday against the Dallas Stars, allowing six goals on 41 shots in a 6-2 loss at SAP Center.
Blackwood felt closer to normal against the Wild as, per Natural Stat Trick, he faced 11 high- danger chances, including seven in the lopsided first period.
“A lot sharper, seeing the puck better, better positioning,” Blackwood said of his third start back after his absence. “It's just one of those things. When you miss some time, a little bit of the details go away. So it was good just to get back into a rhythm and start to feel good again.”
Blackwood has a .897 save percentage this season -- not bad considering Sharks goalies have faced more high- danger shots than any other group in the NHL.
The Sharks, owners of a league-worst 16- 48-8 record, have 10 games remaining this season and would like to finish things in a dignified manner.
That's going to be a challenge as they've scored an average of 2.48 goals per game since Feb. 14, the fourth-lowest total in the NHL, as they've gone without Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and more recently,
Anthony Duclair and Alexander Barabanov.
The Sharks now face a Blues team that has nine games remaining and is five points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the second and final wild- card spot in the Western Conference.
The Sharks just want to remain competitive and win as many games as possible as it finishes a dismal year under challenging circumstances.
“Obviously, you want to be at your best for the guys when we're trying to win games,” Blackwood said. “It was unfortunate. I was pretty frustrated with my play the first two games ( back), but I was able to feel good about my game.
“It's just good to finally feel like myself again.”