Less than a week ago, Vitek Vanecek put up a stellar performance that led the Sharks to an overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Not to be outdone, San Jose Sharks netminder Mackenzie Blackwood decided to put up a gem of his own to beat the New Jersey Devils 1-0.
Blackwood was tested heavily by the Devils, especially in the third period, as time was running out. As you can see from Natural Stat Trick’s heat map at even strength, the Devils were not afraid to shoot.
The Sharks were outshot 19-5 in the final frame of the game, and the Devils had 24 scoring chances compared to the Sharks’ 4 in the last 20 minutes of the game. Blackwood was the reason the Sharks walked away with the 1-0 win.
For Blackwood, the performance set a franchise record. His 44 saves are the most a Sharks’ netminder has made in a shutout victory.
Much closer game than the shot clock shows
While it would appear that Blackwood stole the game, and he does deserve a lot of the credit, it was actually a very close game, especially when you consider where the two teams are in their development.
While the Sharks were outshot 44-27, the scoring chances were 33-24 in favor of the Devils and as we already talked about, 24 of those 33 scoring chances came in the third period. In other words, as Natural Stat Trick’s game flow chart at even strength shows, the Sharks kept the game well within hand for most of the first and second periods.
The line of William Eklund, Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund were especially impactful, almost scoring a goal to put the team up 2-0. However, after a brief conference, the referees decided that it was goaltender interference and the goal got called back.
Defensive pairings sorted out?
The last thing we’ll look at is the defensive pairings. Hockey Stat Cards makes a nice chart that examines the best players for each team in each game.
Actual San Jose Sharks Impact Card #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/AFhSHpH3lx
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) November 11, 2024
When you look at this, you see that Cody Ceci and Henry Thrun were the team’s top performers against the Devils. Not only did the duo have a strong showing on defense, but they also helped fuel the offense.
The Sharks have had trouble with pairings since acquiring Timothy Liljegren, really trying to figure out the combination that’s going to get all three pairings going at the same time. While there was early success with Ceci and Jake Walman, it seemed to throw off the other pairings.
In this game, it looks like Ceci and Thrun might be another option the coaching staff could turn to. What’s more, Jan Rutta seemed to have a more impactful night with Jack Thompson as his partner, though Thompson was hit or miss.
Highlight
The Sharks are back at it today in Philadelphia, so this will be a quick turnaround for the team. Before you go, though, revel in the one and only goal scored against the Devils.
While Nico Sturm will get credit for the goal, it was a bit of Timo Meier helping out his old team.
Nico Sturm breaks the ice for the Sharks 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LN2X8Gv2oR
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) November 11, 2024
Scoring summary Sharks at Devils November 10, 2024
First Period
16:21 SJS Nico Sturm from Carl Grundstrom and Henry Thrun
Second Period
No scoring
Third Period
No scoring
