The New Jersey Devils entered Sunday's game
with the Sharks having scored 20 goals in their last 4 games. The Devils were
however playing on less than 24 hours rest, while the Sharks hadn't played
since last Thursday. The Sharks made a single goal stand up in a 1-0 win after
goaltender shutout his former team with a 44 save performance.
Kicking
off a 4-game road trip, the shutout was just what the doctor ordered. Blackwood
was able to do what he needed to do by playing a controlled game where he
didn't waste a lot of energy with acrobatic saves. It was a master class in
positional goaltending that kept the Devils at bay all night.
It was
the first shutout by the Sharks this season, and the first time Blackwood
shutout his former employers since being traded to the Devils in June of 2023.
The opening period was a well balanced affair with both teams trading
scoring chances. The Sharks would out-shoot New Jersey 12-10 in the period, but
neither team dominated in any one aspect of the game.
If anything, the
Sharks should have been trying to jump on a Devils team that played on Saturday
night. San Jose last saw action on Thursday in their 5-2 loss to the Minnesota
Wild at SAP Center.
Former Shark Timo Meier would help out his former
teammates by inadvertently kicking a puck into his own net with 3:39 remaining
in the opening period. Nico Sturm drove toward the Devils net and put a shot on
goaltender Jake Allen, but it was swept aside. Sturm's momentum pushed him past
the net, but right to the puck where he would put a follow up backhand shot
that hit Allen in the pad, then off Meier for the own goal.
Both teams
would trade penalties in the first half of the 2nd period, but neither power
play units could convert. The Sharks penalty killers did an admirable job keep
in the puck away from Blackwood.
Justin Dowling just missed tying the game with 9
minutes to play when he flipped a puck on net from the doorstep, but Blackwood
got enough of it to deflect it off the left post.
Former Devil Fabian
Zetterlund appeared to double the Sharks lead at 7:20 when he jammed the puck
over the New Jersey goal line, but the referees huddled and ruled that the
forward pushed Allen's leg pad.
Erik Haula hit Jan Rutta in the head
late in the frame to put the Sharks on their 3rd power play chance of the
night. San Jose would fail to convert, but it was valuable time spent forcing
the New Jersey penalty killers to burn energy.
San Jose buzzing early
in the 3rd period in an attempt to exploit New Jersey's fatigue. Zetterlune
found himself with the puck in front of Allen 6 minutes into the period after a
strong forecheck by William Eklund, but Brett Pesce made a last second diving
block on the Sharks shot attempt.
A hooking penalty to Ferraro at
16:28 put the Sharks into a precarious position late in the contest. New Jersey
pulled Allen for a 2-man advantage, but they almost shot themselves in the foot
when a pass back trickled all the way down the ice and clipped their own right
post.
Blackwood went to work and snuffed out the 19 shots he faced in
that final period.
Game Notes: * Mackenzie Blackwood's
44 save shutout was the highest save count in Sharks history in a 1-0 shutout.
* Fabian Zetterlund and Mikael GRnlund combined for 11 of the Sharks
27 shots in the game.
* Not surprisingly, the Sharks blocked almost
twice as many shots as the Devils. San Jose denied 25 New Jersey shots, led by
Henry Thrun and Mario Ferraro who had 4 blocks each.
* Henry Thrun has
3 assists in his last 2 games.
* The Sharks now get to play on tired
legs, as they head to Philadelphia for a game with the Flyers on Monday night.
