Devan Dubnyk's standout half-season with the Minnesota Wild could be award worthy.
Dubnyk, 28, was named one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, presented yearly to the league's top goaltender in voting by the 30 team general managers. Montreal's Carey Price and Nashville's Pekka Rinne are the other finalists for the award, which will be announced on June 24 during the NHL awards ceremony.
Dubnyk went 36-14-4 in 58 games for Minnesota and the Arizona Coyotes. He ranked second in the NHL with a 2.07 goals-against average and .929 save percentage, second only to Price in each category. Dubnyk was tied for fourth in the league with six shutouts and was tied for sixth in wins, while setting career highs in wins, goals-against average, save percentage, shutouts, games played and consecutive starts.
Making the move to Minnesota in a Jan. 14 trade from the Arizona Coyotes, Dubnyk carried the Wild to a playoff berth while starting all but one game following the trade. He helped Minnesota to the league's best second-half record while going 27-9-2 with a 1.78 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.
Dubnyk, who joins Niklas Backstrom as the only Vezina Trophy finalists in Wild history, started a franchise record 38 straight games for Minnesota and he posted five shutouts during the streak. Backstrom was a finalist in 2009 when Boston's Tim Thomas won the award.
Combined with his final game in Arizona, Dubnyk made 39 consecutive starts, the most in the NHL since Evgeni Nabokov started 43 games in a row for the San Jose Sharks in 2007-08, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
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