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If you were to search for the perfect symbol for the enigma of NHL goaltending, you would find no better man than Devan Dubnyk.
Goalies are the most important players on the ice. They also are, often, the most overpaid. The reason is simple the best ones are worth every penny and then some, but in the rush to find that difference maker, a lot of averageguys end up getting handsomely rewarded for short-term succe s.
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In other words, every team dreams theyve got Carey Price. Often times, theyve got Ilya Bryzgalov. Or Corey Crawford. Or Marc-Andre Fleury. Or, yes, even Jonathan Quick. All guys who Jacob Martin Jerseys are not terrible, but cant be relied on to carry a team. Theyre capable, but they arent consistent.
But disregarding your goalie can lead to disaster. See the Wild from the start of the season. Their very good po se sion numbers were undermined by downright horrific play that as they acquired Dubnyk from the Coyotes on Jan. 14. A refresher (via war-on-ice): this season at 5v5, Darcy Kuemper had a 90.49 save percentage and Niklas Backstrom 88.60.
Enter Dubnyk. The 27-year-old former first-round pick has a 93.80 save percentage (5v5) since being acquired from the Coyotes. Over that stretch, only three goalies with 15 games played have been better Price, Cory Schneider and Tuukka Rask. Those Zach Wilson Jerseys guys have all played 19 games. Dubnyk has played 24.
On Jan. 14, the Wild were 18-19-5, eight points back of the second wild card. Since, theyve reeled off a record of 18-4-2 and moved into the top wild-card spot in the West.
Yeah, goalie play makes a big difference.
It isnt the only difference of course. The Wild shot 7.7 percent up to Jan. 14. Since, theyve shot 9.7 percent. Combined with stellar goaltending, thats going to win a lot of games. While they have seen a decrease in their shot-attemptnumbers, thats likely due to playing with a lead in close situations (within a goal in the first two periods, tied in the third period), the Wild have actually slightly improved over this stretch. Still, without a guy to reliably keep the pucks out, the Wild's rapid rise in the standings would not have been po sible.
Which brings us back to Dubnyk, as he has been the catalyst for this revival. A catalyst, who last season posted a 90.18 save percentage at 5v5 and was dumped by Edmonton. A catalyst who was acquired for a third-round pick this season by a team who was absolutely desperate for a change in net.
Is this the real Dubnyk, a guy who has finally figured it out at age 27, who is Shaq Lawson Jerseys finally living up to being taken 14th overall? Or is he yet another reminder of the ficklene s of goalie play where a guy who is average or slightly above average can suddenly get hot and look like a world beater over a few months or even a season, like Quincy Enunwa Jerseys the guy who replaced him with the Oilers, Ben Scrivens (90.67 save percentage this year, 93.17 last year)?
Right now the Wild dont care. Dubnyk has not only saved their season but made them a threat nobody in the West wants to deal with in the first round.
This offseason though, Dubnyk is an unrestricted free agent. Hell be due a raise off the $800K he's made this season. The Wild could see about re-signing him, or they could search for someone else, even Kuemper, as a cheaper replacement. Sure, Kuemperstunk this season. But the Wild have a great reminder every night that one season does not a goalie career make.
The point is, weve seen this story before. The question is, how will it end for this years perfect symbol of the enigma of goaltending in the NHL?