MacDonald began his junior hockey career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the 1997–98 season playing for the Halifax Mooseheads. In 17 games, he recorded only three wins, but continued to work on his style and play, impressing the coaching staff in the process[citation needed]. The Ontario Hockey League then came calling the following season and MacDonald began play for the Peterborough Petes as their starting goaltender. MacDonald thrived in his expanded role, finishing with a winning record and a lower goals against average. He remained the Pete\'s starting goaltender until the 2001–02 season when he joined the Toledo Storm of the ECHL after signing with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent.\n', '

MacDonald struggled on the weak[citation needed] ECHL team and recorded only 12 wins in his 38 games. The Red Wings sent MacDonald to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL for the 2002–03 AHL season as backup to Marc Lamothe. MacDonald proved to be capable in his new role, finishing with 14 wins and 6 losses in the 25 games he played. The 2003–04 AHL season saw MacDonald splitting time with Lamothe. The Griffins had seen enough and after Lamothe left the following season, MacDonald was named starting goaltender. MacDonald played in 66 games for the Griffins, finishing with a record of 34–29–2 and a save percentage of .926. The 2005–06 AHL season saw an influx of goaltenders into the Red Wings farm system and MacDonald competed to stay near the top. He split time with Drew MacIntyre and new prospect Jimmy Howard. MacDonald finished the season 17–9–2 in 32 games played.\n', '

MacDonald was brought up to the NHL for the 2006–07 season when he was named as a backup goaltender to Dominik Hašek and Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings. MacDonald made his NHL debut on October 19, 2006 against the San Jose Sharks. Detroit was down 3–0 when MacDonald came in for Osgood after he let in three power play goals in the first 15 minutes of period one. However, it would take five more games, in which he was the starting goaltender, before MacDonald would get his first NHL win with a 7–4 victory over the Calgary Flames on February 11, 2007.\n', '

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