Mackenzie Blackwood and the New Jersey Devils are hitting his stride.
Blackwood made 37 saves, including stopping a penalty shot, to record his second consecutive shutout as the Devils defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Saturday night, extending their points streak to a season-high six games.
“This team has been working hard; that’s the one thing I’ll say about us the whole year; we haven’t quit; we haven’t stopped working,” Blackwood said. “We’ve been working through it all. Some of the things we’ve done, there are mistakes that we’ve made on our own, but I think we’re working towards being a little more consistent and playing the right way, and I think it’s starting to come together for us.”
Despite struggling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference for most of the season, the Devils have now gone 3-0-3 since the All-Star break, surpassing their previous point streak of five games (4-0-1).
“Obviously, everyone’s bought in,” said Blake Coleman, who scored along with Nikita Gusev and Kyle Palmieri. “Everyone’s having fun, and special teams got going here a little bit, and it’s a good feeling right now.”
Calvin Petersen was called up from the AHL’s Ontario Reign following the trade of backup goaltender Jack Campbell to Toronto, where he made 31 saves in his season debut for the Kings.
“A little too much vanilla from a lot of guys, and obviously, the lack of offense comes back to bite us,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “We are desperately searching for some help offensively. A lot of players have played many games for us, and they haven’t hit the score sheet or even the chance sheet.”
Blackwood, who made 46 saves in a 5-0 win over the Flyers on Thursday, stopped 13 shots in the scoreless first period, including one that deflected off the post from Michael Amadio. The 23-year-old rookie goaltender denied Anze Kopitar on a penalty shot after the Kings’ captain was hooked on a breakaway during a power play with New Jersey up 3-0 in the second period.
Kopitar explained he aimed to beat Blackwood above the pad, but Blackwood managed to glove the attempt.
This marked the second time in Blackwood’s career that he has recorded back-to-back shutouts. In December 2018, he blanked Carolina and Vancouver in consecutive games. Blackwood now has 17 of the Devils’ 20 wins this season.
The Devils took control in the second period, scoring three goals in just over five minutes.
Gusev opened the scoring with a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from defenseman Damon Severson at 5:38. Coleman added his 21st goal on a power play less than two minutes later. Palmieri notched his 20th goal when a shot from the point deflected off Jack Hughes and Palmieri before finding the back of the net.
“Sometimes you are on the right side of bounces, and sometimes you are not,” Petersen said. “I think the third one bounced around in there. It was kind of disappointing, considering the momentum they had. I think it was a deflating goal. That’s part of hockey you live with.”
Game Notes:
- C Nico Hischier (knee) and D Sami Vatanen (foot) each missed their third straight game.
- The teams will meet again in Los Angeles on Feb. 29.
- Trevor Moore played for the Kings for the first time since being acquired from Toronto on Wednesday.
UP NEXT:
- Kings: Finish their New York City swing at the Rangers on Sunday night.
- Devils: New Jersey hosts Florida on Tuesday night. It will be Brian Boyle’s first game in New Jersey since being traded to Nashville last February.
