NHL.com’s fantasy workers continues to cowl the most recent traits and storylines within the League by way of the lens of NHL EDGE puck and participant tracker stats. Today, we take a look at the outlook for goalie Mackenzie Blackwood after being traded to the Colorado Avalanche.
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For the second time this season, the Colorado Avalanche have addressed their goaltending with a commerce, and the acquisition of Mackenzie Blackwood might be a major improve when it comes to superior metrics.
Per NHL EDGE stats, Blackwood is tied for second within the League in midrange saves (157) behind Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild (169). Blackwood additionally ranks eighth in high-danger save proportion (.842), much better than each the League common (.807) and former Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev (.719; beneath fiftieth percentile), who strikes to San Jose as a part of the identical commerce, this season.
Over the previous month (since Nov. 9), Blackwood is tied for the second-best save proportion (.923 in 11 video games) within the NHL behind Gustavsson (.942 in 10 video games). Among goalies with at the very least 15 video games performed this season, Blackwood ranks fourth in save proportion when his opponents have been on the facility play (.902) behind Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators (.932 in 23 video games), Joey Daccord of the Seattle Kraken (.907 in 19 video games) and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers (.903 in 19 video games). Georgiev, in the meantime, struggled in these shorthanded conditions (.847 power-play save proportion).
The Avalanche, normally, are a Stanley Cup contender when wholesome after successful the championship in 2022, and their possession metrics in entrance of Blackwood are a night-and-day distinction in comparison with the Sharks. Colorado ranks fourth in shot makes an attempt proportion at 5-on-5 (53.6), whereas San Jose is second worst (45.4) within the class. The Sharks are permitting the second-most pictures on aim per sport (32.9), whereas the Avalanche are permitting the fourth fewest (26.4); their protection is led by the elite high protection pair of Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
Per NHL EDGE stats, the Avalanche are additionally main the League in 20-plus mph velocity bursts as a workforce (905) regardless of lots of their secondary scorers having handled accidents in forwards Artturi Lehkonen (restricted to 17 of 29 video games), Ross Colton (12 video games performed) and Jonathan Drouin (5 video games performed; nonetheless week to week with upper-body damage); wing Valeri Nichushkin made his season debut Nov. 15 (restricted to 12 video games this season) after being suspended as a part of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in the course of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But, even with the latest improve in Scott Wedgewood (two wins, .951 save proportion, one shutout in first three video games), who was acquired from Nashville Predators on Nov. 30, the Avalanche nonetheless have the worst workforce save proportion within the NHL (.866) by way of their first 29 video games. Wedgewood might now both be part of a timeshare with or the backup to Blackwood.
The Avalanche have additionally struggled on the penalty kill this season, which will be linked to a mix of their personnel absences by way of the primary two months of the season and in addition their goaltending struggles with Georgiev and former backup Justus Annunen. The Sharks even have a significantly better penalty kill (80.8; tenth finest in NHL) than the Avalanche (73.7; seventh worst), a testomony to Blackwood’s efficiency when his workforce was shorthanded.
The ceiling for Blackwood is extraordinarily excessive after the commerce contemplating Georgiev led the NHL in wins (38 in 63 video games) final season and was tied for probably the most victories in 2022-23 (40 in 62 video games) as Colorado’s clear starter. The Avalanche received the Stanley Cup in 2022 with the tandem of Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz (.901 workforce save proportion in 20 video games that postseason) and are clearly attempting to observe an analogous recipe with their goalie strikes this season.
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More: NHL EDGE stats for Blackwood
