Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 51 shots last night in his San Jose Sharks debut.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 51 shots in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche last night.
San Jose has seen some all-time great goalie performances over the years, but Blackwood's performance last night should rise towards the top and fast.
Blackwood made NHL history last night with his 51 saves. Per NHL PR, it's the most-ever saves by a goaltender in his debut with a new team in NHL history.
Compared to other performances, Blackwood's game should be next to Troy Grosenick's NHL debut 45-save shutout performance against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 18, 2014.
Regarding goaltending moments in San Jose Sharks' history, Evgeni Nabokov holds two.
On May 4, 2008, Nabokov saved a shot from Brad Richards of the Dallas Stars by sliding over from the other side of the net and gloving the puck. This save came during the Western Conference Semi-Finals as well.
Nabokov would make 53 saves in the game but lose 2-1 in 4OT. That also gave the Stars a 4-2 series win to move on to the Western Conference Final.
Nabby's other great moment was his powerplay goal in 2002. San Jose led the Vancouver Canucks 6-4 with under a minute left in the third period.
Blackwood's moment of glory came against Cale Makar. He slid to his right and made a split save to keep a 1-0 lead.
While the Sharks can't expect this type of performance every night, Blackwood will hope to continue his strong play as the season continues.
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The Hockey News