Feeling the urgency while in 12th place in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Wild made an early move to fortify the team's presence in goal.
Minnesota acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2015 draft.
The Wild have allowed the fourth-fewest shots per game in the NHL to opponents, but are tied for the worst save percentage in the league at .889 percent. Dubnyk, 28, had a 9-5-2 record in 19 games in his first season for Arizona, to go with a .916 save percentage and 2.72 goals-against average.
Originally a first-round draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers in 2004, Dubnyk has a .910 save percentage and 2.88 goals-against average in six NHL seasons with Edmonton, Nashville and the Coyotes.
"He has improved on his positioning, his patience and his confidence is back," Coyotoes goaltender coach Sean Burke told FOXSportsArizona.com.
Minnesota entered the season with Darcy Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom set to split time in net, with Josh Harding dealing with a broken foot. Harding has since returned, but was sent to the American Hockey League as he works his way back.
Kuemper, 24, has started 27 games for the Wild. He started the season with shutouts in three of his first four games but has lost six of eight decisions. Kuemper is 13-12-1 this season with a 2.68 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. He is currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Backstrom, 36, has lost his last six decisions. He is 5-7-3 with a 3.04 goals-against average and .887 save percentage this season.
The Wild suffered their sixth straight loss Tuesday night, 7-2, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Minnesota has dropped 12 of its past 14 games in regulation or overtime.
Offensively, the Wild are fourth in the league in shots per game, averaging 31.9 per game. They have the league's sixth-worst shooting percentage, scoring on 8.3 percent of their shots.
Dumba recalled, two put on IR: Minnesota is also dealing with depth issues on defense. The Wild placed defensemen Marco Scandella and Justin Falk on injured reserve on Wednesday and recalled defenseman Matt Dumba from the American Hockey League, according to the team's website.
Scandella tied for ninth among all NHL defensemen with nine goals this season, has missed four games with an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 6. Falk suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday night's loss at Pittsburgh.
Dumba, 20, has played in 20 games with Minnesota this season, tallying a goal and three assists.
The team's first-round draft pick in 2012, Dumba has four goals and eight assists in 17 games for the Iowa Wild in the AHL, and was recently named to the AHL All-Star game.
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