Devan Dubnyk

StaTuesday: Wild's Dubnyk playing like old self

Published Oct. 30, 2018 4:44 p.m. ET

Ryan Lund

Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk is looking an awful lot like his old self so far.

Or rather, his 2015 self.

The 32-year-old, currently in the fourth year of a six-year, $26 million contract, has a .937 save percentage and a 2.19 goals-against average through nine games.

Upon closer inspection, those numbers look even better.

After a middling season of .918 play, Dubnyk is matching some of the best numbers of his career.

Dubnyk finished third in the Vezina Trophy voting after posting a .936 down the stretch in 2014-15, when he was traded to the Wild mid-season, and finished fifth in 2016-17, when he posted a .923.

He currently ranks third in the league with a .955 5-on-5 save percentage and has a 1.48 goals-against average in such situations.

Player	Team	GP	SV% (5v5)	GAA (5v5)	SV% (all)	GAA (all)
Jaroslav Halak	BOS	6	0.963	0.89	.945	1.62
Pekka Rinne	NSH	5	0.956	1.32	.929	2.10
Devan Dubnyk	MIN	9	0.955	1.48	.937	2.19
Semyon Varlamov	COL	8	0.952	1.36	.950	1.62
John Gibson	ANA	10	0.952	1.80	.938	2.44
Robin Lehner	NYI	6	0.948	1.68	.929	2.39
Casey DeSmith	PIT	4	0.945	1.77	.939	1.95
Keith Kinkaid	N.J	8	0.940	1.68	.925	2.12
Antti Raanta	ARI	7	0.940	1.62	.921	2.13
Henrik Lundqvist	NYR	9	0.937	2.07	.917	2.77
Carey Price	MTL	7	0.937	1.69	.922	2.13
Frederik Andersen	TOR	10	0.930	2.19	.919	2.53
Anders Nilsson	VAN	6	0.929	2.24	.912	2.83
Corey Crawford	CHI	5	0.927	2.03	.919	2.44

*Minimum 200 minutes played.

Dubnyk was sharp again Saturday in the Wild's 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced.

He allowed just one goal at 5-on-5, a shot through traffic from the top of the right circle six minutes into the game, but was perfect the rest of the way, stopping 16 of 17 shots and four of four high-danger chances.

Dubnyk held the Avalanche's devastating top line in check. Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen were held scoreless on a combined seven shots.

Even when the numbers haven't looked good -- like, say, four goals on 31 shots against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday -- Dubnyk has.

Dubnyk gave up a softie on a long-range wrist shot in the second period, but was otherwise sharp.

With the Wild's offense off to a sluggish start -- they've been held under three goals five times in 11 games -- Dubnyk's play has been critical.

He started four games during the Wild's five-game winning streak, allowing just five goals on 122 shots, a .959 save percentage, including a three-game streak of one-goal performances.

It's the first time he's allowed one goal or fewer in three straight games since his three-game shutout streak last November.

The Wild might need that sort of production to contend in a loaded division, but if Dubnyk can stay the course, they'll be tough to play against.

Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

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Devan Dubnyk

Minnesota Wild

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