Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood will look to continue his recent solid play Thursday when the San Jose Sharks face the New York Rangers in the third game of a four-game road trip.
Four days after his 44-save shutout propelled the Sharks to a 1-0 win over the New Jersey Devils, Blackwood is expected to start against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
In his last six starts before Thursday, starting with a Oct. 23 start in San Jose against the Anaheim Ducks, Blackwood is 3-3-0 with a solid .927 save percentage. Among the 37 NHL goalies who have played in at least eight games this season, Blackwood, per moneypuck.com, is 13th in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (.346).
With his performance against the Devils, Blackwood recorded the second most saves in Sharks history in a shutout performance. Troy Grosenick made 45 saves for the Sharks in a 2-0 road win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 16, 2015.
Blackwood, a pending unrestricted free agent, is 6-8-0 with a .887 save percentage in 15 career games against the Rangers. This season, Blackwood is 3-4-2 with a .910 save percentage.
After Thursday, the Sharks finish the road trip against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
POWER PLAY ADJUSTMENT: The Sharks are tweaking their power play units, moving Macklin Celebrini to the second unit, where he’ll join fellow forwards Will Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Barclay Goodrow, and defenseman Timothy Liljegren.
It’s the first time Celebrini and Smith, the Sharks’ top two rookie forwards, have been on the same power-play unit.
The Sharks’ top power-play unit featured forwards Mikael Granlund, William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, Alexander Wennberg, and defenseman Jack Thompson.
Something had to change for the Sharks, who have converted just one of their last 20 power play opportunities over the past seven games. They are currently riding an 0-for-15 streak with the man advantage, with their last power play goal coming on Oct. 31 when Smith scored against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 3-2 win at SAP Center.
WALMAN OUT: Indications were Thursday that defenseman Jake Walman would not play against the Rangers and miss a fifth straight game. Walman, who practiced Wednesday, has or had been dealing with an upper-body injury he sustained on Nov. 2 when he was hit by Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser.
NIETO RECALLED: Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Nieto was recalled from the AHL on Thursday, allowing him the chance to play against the Sharks on Saturday. Nieto hasn’t played an NHL game since Nov. 30, 2023, when he sustained a left knee injury that would later lead to laparoscopic surgery in early January and reconstructive MCL surgery in May.
Nieto, drafted in the second round in 2011 by the Sharks, could make his season debut Friday when the Penguins play the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Nieto has played 364 of his 673 NHL games in two stints with the Sharks, first from 2013 to 2016 after he turned professional and then from 2021 to 2023 when he returned to the team as a free agent.
IRWIN RETIRES: Defenseman Matt Irwin, who spent the first six seasons of his professional career in the Sharks organization, announced his retirement Thursday.
After spending three-plus seasons with the Worcester Sharks of the AHL from 2010 to 2013, the undrafted Irwin played 153 games in San Jose from 2013 to 2015. Irwin would then play for Boston, Nashville, Anaheim, Buffalo and Washington before he spent the 2023-2024 season with the Abbotsford Canucks near his hometown of Victoria, B.C.
Irwin, who turns 37 later this month, had 93 points in 461 NHL games.
