The Minnesota Wild have benefitted greatly from the play of goalie Devan Dubnyk this season, and they got another terrific performance out of him Friday in Game 5 of their series against the Blues – including a stop on St. Louis winger Alex Steen while Dubnyk was lying on his stomach.
Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk is a big-bodied presence between the pipes, and in Game 5 of the Wild's first-round series against St. Louis Friday, he used his athleticism and frame to keep Blues winger Alex Steen from scoring at point-blank range.
The teams were tied at a goal apiece nearing the 12-minute mark of the second period when Steen got a slick pass from captain David Backes that left him alone with the puck directly in front of Dubnyk, who was already sprawled-out on the ice and on his stomach. Steen couldn't beat him, though, as Dubnyk got a pad on the puck to keep the score 1-1:
About three minutes after Dubnyk made the save on Steen, Minnesota's Nino Niederreiter scored the eventual game-winner in a 4-1 Wild win that put them up 3-2 in the series against St. Louis. That's exactly what Dubnyk is supposed to do, and if the Wild can continue getting consistently strong showings from him, they're a threat to keep on surprising opponents in the second round and beyond.