New Jersey Devils: 5 Ways To Salvage This Season

(Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
4 of 6
(Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Mackenzie Blackwood Gets His Save Percentage To .920

Goaltending is and will forever be the question mark over this franchise, that is until it’s fixed. Mackenzie Blackwood has had stretches where he was dominant in net. He was absolutely lights out night in and night out from December 7th to January 2nd. Outside of those dates, things were a little hairy. That’s why, above all else, we must see consistency from Blackwood.

Right now, Mackenzie Blackwood has a .905 save percentage, which puts him at 34th in the NHL. That’s rough. However, if he’s able to get his save percentage to a little over .920, then he’s going to be at or at least right near the top ten.

To get there will be no easy task. Blackwood has faced 1,011 shots so far this year, so based on our calculations, we expect him to fact another 716 (it’s a loose math equation, but it’s how we’re coming to this conclusion).

To get his save percentage to over .920, he needs to make at least 1,589 saves, meaning he would allow 138 goals total this season. He’s already allowed 98 goals this season. Let’s say he takes 6-10 of the final 34 games off. That means he can only allow 40 goals in, say, 24 games. That’s allowing less than two goals per game. That seems near impossible, but if he puts together a stretch of a month where he is dominant again, this is what we need to be happy with our goalie of the future.

Let’s say we can accept a .915 save percentage. Then he needs to make 1581 saves on 1727 shots. That still only gives him 48 goals allowed. If he has another stinker where he allows five goals, it makes it near impossible to get this done. He needs to be near perfect, but if he is it sure would help how we feel.