Dubnyk makes terrific save

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This article was published 07/04/2015 (3829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — There have been a number of juicy individual storylines in the National Hockey League this season, from Alex Ovechkin’s 50 goals, the work of rookies Filip Forsberg and Johnny Gaudreau and the re-emergence of Rick Nash, to the out-of-nowhere tale of Andrew Hammond with the Ottawa Senators.

None of them, it could be argued, is as compelling as the story of Devan Dubnyk and what he’s given the Minnesota Wild since mid-January.

In fact, maybe a sign at the Xcel Energy Center Monday night best explained his contributions, in a very succinct manner:

“Dear Dub. Thanks.” — State of Hockey

Dubnyk, the former Edmonton Oilers first-round draft pick, has not only saved the Wild since he was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes for a third-round pick, he’s essentially saved his career. Consider: Over the last little bit he’s been kicked to the curb by the Oilers, Nashville Predators, Montreal Canadiens and Coyotes before landing with the Wild.

And so when he arrived in St. Paul his only expectations — his only hope, really — was to just get one more opportunity to prove himself.

Well, Dubnyk has done that and then some.

He started his 38th straight game against the Winnipeg Jets Monday — 37 with the Wild, one with the Coyotes — and Minnesota is 26-7-3 since his arrival (prior to Monday’s game). They were 12th in the Western Conference when he arrived, 11 points behind the Jets.

Now they are making playoff plans.

“I knew I was going to get a chance to play and I didn’t try to think past that,” Dubnyk said Monday. “I was excited that they were going to give me a good opportunity to get in and play games. But I’ve learned, like in my whole career, to approach it like I wasn’t ever going to get handed anything. I’ve watched these guys in the past and knew they were great goalies. It’s just things weren’t going well with this team as a whole. I just wanted to come in and try to help them.”

Now, given what the man has been through of late, excuse him if he isn’t soaking up every nanosecond of this moment. Simply put, the game is fun again.

“You don’t have to go through what I went through last year to make it fun, but it certainly makes it that much more enjoyable,” Dubnyk said.

“It feels good. It’s nice to just see it turn around. It’s scary to think how quickly it can be taken away from you. Last year there were times you just feel disappointed, because I was hoping to be a starter and felt like I was on the path to get there if I continued to improve every year. All of a sudden that’s taken away from you and at my age — I’m not old or anything — I’m past that prospect stage where they will look at you.

“So to be given this opportunity so quickly after that has just been awesome.”

Dubnyk said he spent the summer trying to get his mind clear. The Coyotes gave him his first chance to revive his career, but it was his decision to re-adjust his thinking that gave him a fresh outlook on the game.

“After getting that opportunity to go to Arizona I just wanted to approach it that I’m not going to take one day for granted in this league,” said Dubnyk. “This is the best league in the world and I’m just going to take the chance to enjoy coming to the rink every day, whether I’m going to play 10 games or 60.”

 

FYI: Dubnyk’s 38 consecutive starts is the most in the NHL since Evgeni Nabokov made 43 straight for San Jose from Oct. 4, 2007 to Jan. 12, 2008.

 

BLUES WATCH: The Jets headed to St. Louis immediately after the game, as they’ll face the Blues tonight in their final back-to-back of the season.

They’ll be facing a Blues squad that has won three straight, but is seriously dinged.

Vladimir Tarasenko, the Blues leading scorer, skated Monday but did not practise. He’s missed three games with a lower-body injury and may not be available until the playoffs.

Alex Steen, who has missed the last four games due to injury, is close to returning, but will not be in the lineup against the Jets.

The Blues will also be without defenceman Robert Bortuzzo, who was injured in a win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

 

COMRIE TO THE ROCK: The Jets made an organizational move Monday, sending goaltender Eric Comrie to the St. John’s IceCaps. The 19-year-old had a 20-19-1 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and .914 save percentage with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL. Comrie was a second-round pick of the Jets (59th overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait