Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Placed on injured reserve
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Blackwood (MCL sprain) has been placed on injured reserve.
The move is retroactive to Nov. 3, when he was injured in a game against Edmonton. Blackwood is 4-2-0 with a 2.79 GAA and an .880 save percentage. The Devils recalled Nico Daws in a corresponding move.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Out 3-6 weeks
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Blackwood (MCL sprain) is expected to miss 3-6 weeks, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood was hurt during the Devils' 4-3 win over Edmonton on Thursday. He's 4-2-0 with a 2.79 GAA and .880 save percentage in seven starts. Vitek Vanecek had been splitting the goaltending duties fairly evenly with Blackwood, but now Vanecek will be asked to handle the bulk of the Devils' workload.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Diagnosed with sprained MCL
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Blackwood has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood was injured in a game against Edmonton last Thursday. He is scheduled to meet with doctors Tuesday to determine what to do next. Vitek Vanecek will be counted on to handle the majority of the starts until Blackwood can return.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Will be evaluated Tuesday
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Blackwood (undisclosed) will be in New Jersey on Tuesday to meet with doctors, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site.
That rules Blackwood out for Saturday's game against Calgary. He left Thursday's contest in the second period after appearing to hurt himself while making a save. He has a 4-2-0 record, 2.79 GAA, and .880 save percentage in seven starts in 2022-23.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Leaves game early
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Blackwood (undisclosed) left Thursday's game in the second period, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood appeared to hurt himself while making a save and then fell in the crease. Vitek Vanecek replaced Blackwood in goal after the latter made 16 saves on 18 shots prior to the injury. More information on Blackwood's status should be available prior to Saturday's road-trip finale in Calgary.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Set to face Oilers
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Blackwood is expected to start on the road against Edmonton on Thursday, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Edmonton has the third best offense in the league with an average of 4.10 goals per game, so Blackwood will likely have his work cut out for him. He has a 4-2-0 record, 2.67 GAA and .879 save percentage in six starts this season. It's worth noting that although Blackwood's overall save percentage leaves plenty to be desired, he has surrendered two or fewer goals in four of his last five starts, so he's had some strong contests along with a pair of ugly games.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Concedes twice in win
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Blackwood gave up two goals on 23 shots in Tuesday's 5-2 victory over Vancouver.
Blackwood secured his fourth win of the season in six appearances this year and is sporting a 2.67 GAA to start the year. With Vitek Vanecek also riding a three-game winning streak, the 25-year0old Blackwood may be hard-pressed to cement himself as the No. 1 option between the pipes and will likely have to settle for splitting the workload.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Starting in Vancouver
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Blackwood will guard the road goal in Tuesday's game versus the Canucks, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood will play for the first time since Oct. 24. Vitek Vanecek has won three games in a row since Blackwood was pulled in that game versus the Capitals. The Canucks have rebounded from their early struggles this year, so the 25-year-old will need to be sharp to start earning back some playing time.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Returns to ice Friday
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Blackwood (upper body) took part in Friday's morning skate and is an option for Friday's game at home against Colorado.
Blackwood missed Thursday's practice because of the upper-body injury. Vitek Vanecek is expected to start Friday night, but Blackwood is good to serve as the backup. Blackwood has a 3-2-0 record, 2.81 GAA and .871 save percentage in five starts this season.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Out with upper-body injury
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Blackwood wasn't on the ice Thursday due to an upper-body injury, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood has a 3-2-0 record, 2.81 GAA, and .871 save percentage in five starts this season. There's no indication of how significant Blackwood's injury is, but if he misses time, then the Devils will likely lean on backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek. New Jersey doesn't have a set of back-to-back games on its schedule until Nov. 25-26, so they could conceivably use Vanecek almost exclusively for weeks if Blackwood's injury proves to be significant.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Chased by Caps in Monday's loss
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Blackwood stopped 13 of 18 shots before being replaced by Vitek Vanecek to begin the third period of Monday's 6-3 loss to the Capitals.
Blackwood's three-start win streak ended with a resounding thud Monday as Washington scored four straight goals in the second period to chase him from the game, although two of the tallies came off brutal New Jersey defensive-zone turnovers and a third was a vintage Alex Ovechkin power-play one-timer from the faceoff circle. Blackwood has seen the bulk of the playing time in the crease for the Devils so far, starting five of six games, but Vanecek could begin to see more work after this poor showing.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Set to play Monday
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Blackwood is expected to start Monday's home game against Washington, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood has won his past three starts, stopping 55 of 59 shots. He was named the NHL's third star of the week for the period ending Oct. 23 for his efforts. He has bounced back nicely following a shaky season debut when he allowed four goals on 24 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Flyers on Oct. 13.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Secures third win
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Blackwood made 21 saves in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Sharks.
His shutout bid got ruined late in the second period, when Kevin Labanc wired a puck past him top shelf on a two-on-one, but otherwise Blackwood was sharp once again. The 25-year-old netminder has won three straight starts, allowing two goals or fewer in each of them, and he appears to have quickly reclaimed the No. 1 job in New Jersey from offseason acquisition Vitek Vanecek.
Blackwood will start Saturday afternoon's home game against San Jose, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood has won his past two starts, including a 16-save performance against the Islanders on Thursday. He has stopped 54 of 61 shots faced this season through three appearances.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Secures easy win
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Blackwood faced just 17 shots during the Devils' 4-1 victory over the Islanders on Thursday.
Blackwood, who waited for 17:24 before making his first save Tuesday, remained relatively under-worked during his second win of the season. The 25-year-old netminder faced just 14 even-strength shots by the Islanders. Blackwood lost his shutout bid when Anders Lee scored at 16:44 of the third period. In three starts, Blackwood has yielded seven goals on 61 shots.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Set to start Thursday
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Blackwood is expected to start Thursday against the Islanders, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood led the Devils out for the pregame warmups Thursday. The Islanders aren't too strong of a team offensively, so this is a fair opponent for Blackwood.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Rallies for first win
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Blackwood made 18 saves in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Ducks.
Things looked bad for the 25-year-old netminder when Anaheim jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but Blackwood settled down after that and gave the New Jersey offense a chance to wake up. The win was his first of the campaign, and he sports a 3.06 GAA and .864 save percentage through two starts. Blackwood will likely remain in a rotation with Vitek Vanecek until one of them makes a strong push for the starting job.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Set to start Tuesday
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Blackwood is expected to start Tuesday against Anaheim, per Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site.
Blackwood saved 20 of 24 shots in a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday. The Ducks have a solid young offense, so this isn't the easiest of assignments for Blackwood, but the Devils should be especially motivated after dropping their first two games of the season by significant margins.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Shades of last season in loss
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Blackwood made 20 saves in a 5-2 loss to the Flyers on Thursday. He allowed four goals.
Gulp. Blackwood is coming off a couple tough seasons and on the surface, Thursday's effort seems much of the same. The game was knotted 1-1 after one, but the Flyers tickled twine twice in the second in a span of just 23 seconds to go up 3-1. It was 4-1 by the 1:31 mark of the third, and the game was largely out of touch. Blackwood is second fiddle to new arrival Vitek Vanecek and needs to focus on resurrecting his game and its promise. Give him space on the wire until he does.
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Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood: Gets Opening Night start
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Blackwood led the Devils onto the ice, indicating he'll start Thursday's road game versus the Flyers, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Blackwood also started the Devils' last two preseason games. The 25-year-old will likely share the crease with Vitek Vanecek this year. Blackwood has a favorable matchup Thursday against a Flyers team likely to linger near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.
