New Jersey Devils place MacKenzie Blackwood on injured reserve

The New Jersey Devils have placed goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood on injured reserve retroactively to Feb. 21.

Blackwood is currently dealing with a lower-body injury with no timeline for a return known at this point.

Blackwood last played on Feb. 19, making 23 saves in a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Blackwood is 4-4-2 in his past 10 games and 8-5-2 in 17 starts this season as he continues to struggle with the Devils. Blackwood already missed time earlier this year with an injury that took him out of action for a month. He started two AHL games with the Utica Comets, going 1-1-0.

The 26-year-old has had his fair share of ups and downs the past few seasons. Blackwood showed promise in 2019-20, going 22-14-8 with three shutouts and a .915 save percentage for a Devils team looking for stability in net. But, instead, Blackwood’s play has been on a downswing ever since, with the club deciding to acquire Vitek Vanecek last summer to help shore up the team’s crease.

Vanecek has a 25-6-3 record with two shutouts this year after establishing himself as a legitimate No. 1 for the first time in his career. Akira Schmid, a big 22-year-old, has also played well with a 6-4-0 record and a .927 save percentage.

The Devils currently sit three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Metropolitan Division. New Jersey is 14 points clear of the New York Islanders for the first wild-card spot, so they should have no issue qualifying for the playoffs. The club made a big splash on the trade front yesterday, acquiring Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks to help bolster the team’s offense for the playoffs.

The Devils last beat Philadelphia 7-0 on Saturday evening and won’t play again until Wednesday when they travel to Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche.