Before the New Jersey Devils came back from the break, they announced that they plan on taking some of the load off of starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. The 23-year-old netminder has played in 36 of 49 games so far this season. He’s on pace for a 60-game workload, and honestly it’s just not necessary. The Devils are 20 points out of a playoff spot, and it’s just not a possible hole to climb out of.
After Cory Schneider looked like the progression he showed late last year and during the offseason was al a rouge, Ray Shero made a move to get a “backup” plan (pun intended).