"It's just another game, really," Blackwood said Friday morning. "Obviously, I spent a lot of time here, so it'll be nice to see some of the guys I played with before. But other than that, it'll probably be interesting for me to see the rink from the other side."
Blackwood said the Sharks' coaches came to him about a month ago and asked him whether he wanted to start against his former team. The 6-foot-4 goalie said he didn't have strong feelings about it one way or another, so the Sharks started him Thursday night against the Boston Bruins and will have Kaapo Kahkonen go tonight against the Devils, who have won three straight.
But Blackwood had been affected by injuries in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, when his save percentage dipped to .892 and .893, respectively. Healthy again and enjoying his working relationship with Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer, Blackwood's save percentage, through 17 games, has climbed back up to .90.
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