SAN JOSE – Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood’s first few minutes with the San Jose Sharks didn’t go as planned.
Blackwood allowed three goals on the first six shots he faced in what became a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday in the second game of the preseason for both teams.
Blackwood and the Sharks gave up goals to Brett Leason and Olen Zellweger at the 7:26 and 8:08 marks, respectively, of the first period. Leason finished off a Ducks 2-on-1 after the Sharks turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and a shot by Zellweger from just inside the blue line found its way past a screened Blackwood for a 2-0 Anaheim lead.
Former Sharks forward Andrew Agozzino scored a power-play goal at the 12:28 mark of the opening frame, collecting a loose puck after it bounced off the back wall and beating Blackwood, who was perfect the rest of the way and finished with 21 saves.
“A tough start and just better and better as the game went on,” Blackwood said. “Getting your feet back, getting back into playing again. The more time you play, the better you’re going feel.”
Forward William Eklund and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored for the Sharks.
Eklund one-timed a pass from defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin past Ducks goalie Alex Stalock on a 4-on-3 San Jose man advantage at the 7:23 mark of the second period.
Vlasic’s goal came at the 3:23 mark of the third period, as he came down on a 2-on-1 and fired a wrist shot past Stalock. Vlasic, 36, is entering his 18th season in a Sharks uniform and is second on the team’s all-time games played list with 1,239. Patrick Marleau is first with 1,607.
Vlasic has been teammates with a handful of standout offensive defensemen throughout his career, including Dan Boyle and Brent Burns. Now, the Sharks defense corps has to figure things out without Erik Karlsson.
“I’m playing my game. Play well defensively and contribute offensively when I can,” Vlasic said. “Now, as a d-corps group, we’ll have to contribute a little more offensively. But our main focus is playing well defensively, don’t give up as many goals as we did last year. But my main focus is the same. It always has been since (2006).”
Center Mikael Granlund was initially slated to play Tuesday but was scratched from the game for precautionary reasons prior to the 7 p.m. faceoff. Sharks coach David Quinn said if it had been a regular season game, Granlund would have played.
Now in his third training camp with the Sharks, Eklund is hoping to start the season in the NHL after he spent most of last year with the Barracuda.
Eklund, selected seventh overall by San Jose in the 2021 NHL Draft, had 42 points in 54 AHL games last season before he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder on a hit during a game in Colorado on March 22, ending his season.
Tuesday, Eklund started off slowly like many of his teammates, but Quinn said the third period was Eklund’s best. Eklund didn’t disagree.
“Every year, I’m going to learn new things,” Eklund said. “I’ve been (in North America) one year now, have matured more and this year I’m coming in to get a spot on the roster.”
Blackwood, 26, was acquired in late June from the New Jersey Devils for a 2023 sixth-round draft, and promptly signed by the Sharks to a two-year, $4.7 million extension.
After Blackwood battled injuries and some inconsistent play over the last two seasons, the Sharks are hoping the 26-year-old can regain the form he showed in his first three NHL seasons when he went a combined 46-41-12 with a .911 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average in 105 games.
“I’m just looking for his intentions and where he is and a lot of times, I don’t even look at the goal,” Quinn said. “I look at his positioning, his alertness, his athleticism, his anticipation. And if he’s doing all those things, well, then, (goals are) going to in every now and then. I thought he was pretty good in all those areas tonight.”
The Sharks and Ducks play again Wednesday night in Anaheim.
