Dubnyk leads Wild fight back from the brink

By Jim den Hollander

Editor, Midwesthockey.info

Charlie Coyle and Martin Hanzal provided the offense and Devan Dubnyk turned aside all 28 St. Louis Blues’ shots as the Minnesota Wild finally found a way to beat the host Blues with a 2-0 win at the Scottrade Center on Wednesday (April 19) night.

As a result, the Wild staved off elimination and earned the right for another shot to face the Blues on home ice as game five will be played back at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Saturday afternoon.

Blues’ goaltender Jake Allen was next to unbeatable through the first three games, allowing single goals on 52, 24 and 41 shots respectively, or three goals on 117 shots for an awesome .975 save percentage. While those numbers humbled Dubnyk somewhat, he was hardly to blame, allowing just seven goals in the first 10 periods (Game 1 went to overtime) himself.

Jaden Schwartz, continuing an amazing run through the final 15 games of the regular season, has been the offensive leader so far having played a part in five of his team’s seven goals with two goals and three helpers. Zach Parise has scored a pair for the Wild so far. Ryan Suter has two assists and as expected, leads the way in time on ice, playing more than 27 minutes per game.

While the Blues have pulled out victories in three out of four, this series has been ultra close statistically. Head Coach Bruce Boudreau pointed that out in interviews before game four and he might have a point. If the Wild can take advantage of home ice on Saturday, this series could still get mighty interesting.