Sharks Announce Mackenzie Blackwood As Opening Night Starter

The San Jose Sharks have picked their starting goalie for opening night.

The San Jose Sharks have picked their starting goalie for opening night.

Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters today that Mackenzie Blackwood will get the opening night start against the St. Louis Blues. 

It will be Blackwood's first time as the Sharks opening night starter, as Kaapo Kahkonen started the first game last season. 

"I think he's been here, had a really good camp [and] really good summer," Warsofsky said. "Both guys competed for that [opening night start]."

Blackwood's Sharks debut was memorable last season. He stopped 51 shots in a heartbreaking 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Warsofsky's message this season is to help the Sharks earn more respect as a difficult team to play against. 

"Respect in the National Hockey League is probably the biggest thing," Warsofsky said. "We do that [by being] a hard team to play against each and every night, whether we win or lose a hockey game, whether we're in our building, [or] we're at somewhere else. Teams don't want to play us. That will be the biggest thing for us to hang our hat on."

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