SAN JOSE – Mackenzie Blackwood was about a week away from leaving Toronto and heading to the Bay Area last month for the start of training camp when he got a visit from San Jose Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer.
The two had previously only talked on the phone, and that was after Blackwood had been acquired by the Sharks last June and subsequently signed to a two-year contract extension. So Speer’s visit gave the two a chance to get to know each other a bit better and get on the same page prior to camp.
It was also a personal gesture that Blackwood appreciated.
“That shows a lot,” Blackwood said Monday. “To come and spend some time and go out of your way to come work with me. Yeah, I was appreciative.”
Speer, now in his second season with the Sharks, is tasked with helping the team solve its goaltending woes after years of being well below average. The Sharks haven’t had a team save percentage over .901 since the 2017-2018 season and last year, that number sunk to an NHL low of .881.
So far, the Sharks are off to a better start, with Blackwood stopping 51 of 52 shots in the Sharks’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. After the game, Blackwood was quick to credit his teammates for keeping most shot attempts to the perimeter, but also Speer for the work they’ve done together over the last several weeks.
“He’s been good. Lots of help for me, working on keeping my game tight, not overplaying stuff, and keeping my feet underneath me a little bit more,” Blackwood said. “If you get stuck, re-adjust, and keep moving. Staying square. So just a lot of little stuff that we’ve kind of chipped away at, but it all adds up to something big.”
Not surprisingly, Blackwood will get the start again on Tuesday when the Sharks face Brent Burns and the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center. But with the way the Sharks’ schedule unfolds this month, with seven games over the next 13 days, both Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen figure to get a fair amount of work.
Speer worked with Kahkonen last season, helping to change his game and improve his confidence. Kahkonen had a .895 save percentage in his final 18 games last season compared to a .869 mark over the first 19 games.
Kahkonen played well in the preseason and aside from one goal late in the second period, Quinn felt the Finnish-born netminder had a positive outing in the Sharks’ 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last Thursday.
“The one thing about (Speer), he cares so much about the guys he coaches,” Quinn said. “Great tactician, but he has the ability to connect with the people he’s coaching and that’s what makes him a great coach.
“He doesn’t coach everybody the same. He knows every guy’s a little bit different. … But the connection he creates with his goalies is pretty special.”
Quinn said that after Saturday’s game, no one was happier for Blackwood than Kahkonen.
“Big hug, big smile,” Quinn said. “To me, you can’t win (on the ice) until you win in (the locker room). We think we got two guys that could do that, which would make it difficult for the coach. But those are great problems to have.”
Certainly, that’s where the Sharks want to get to under Speer. who is in his 11th year as a goalie coach, working with both amateurs and professionals at a variety of levels. Before he came to the Sharks, Speer spent three seasons with the Stockton Heat, the former AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.
“I’ve had coaches that I’ve gotten along with, but it’s nice to have a guy here that you get to spend every day with that knows the game, knows my game, and knows what I need to do. Very detailed,” Blackwood said. “And you get to know him, he’s a great guy. So far, everything has been great.”
VLASIC OUT: Injured defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic will not play Tuesday and is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Saturday, Vlasic had just five shifts and had 3:15 of ice time before he left the game.
Quinn said that Vlasic will probably skate Tuesday and that Henry Thrun will draw into the lineup in Vlasic’s place. Thrun played against the Golden Knights, had some struggles, and was a healthy scratch on Saturday. Thrun, though, will likely be on the Sharks’ second power-play unit against the Hurricanes.
INJURY UPDATES: Logan Couture (lower body) skated Monday and felt good afterward, Quinn said. Couture hadn’t skated in a week after he had a small setback last Monday. … Mikael Granlund did not skate Monday but is feeling better, Quinn said, and remains on about a week-to-10-day timeline. … Quinn wouldn’t say if he would keep the same forward group he had Saturday. Winger Kevin Labanc (upper body) is getting closer to being available to play, Quinn said.