Minnesota Wild’s Devan Dubnyk Makes Series Mark

Facing elimination, Minnesota Wild’s Devan Dubnyk cast a Game 4 shadow over the St. Louis Blues. Dubnyk earned a shutout by out-dueling peer and previous series star Jake Allen.

In a match-up defined by the play of the goaltenders, Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk took his turn in the NHL spotlight.

Out-dueled by St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen through the opening three matches of the Western Conference first-round playoff series, Dubnyk turned aside 28 shots during a 2-0 victory Wednesday night at Scottrade Center. The Blues lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1. Game 5 is Saturday in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The major difference in Game 4, again, were the goalies. While Dubnyk remained sharp through long stretches of opening-period inactivity, his in-game focus enabled him to avoid key mental lapses. His save on Joe Edmundson’s left-circle shot at 3:15 of the third period helped hang a shadow on Allen’s 26-save, two-mistake effort. In a series plot twist, Allen couldn’t avoid game-turning miscues.

Allen appeared to play right into a film-study trap laid by Charlie Coyle. Understanding Allen is a left-handed shot, the Wild forward dumped the puck deep and immediately skated for position along the boards. On cue, Allen’s clearing attempt from the right side of the net was intercepted by Coyle. He calmly shot into an empty net.

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Allen’s second mistake occurred when he allowed a hard wrist shot from Wild forward Martin Hanzal to beat him blocker-side. It marked the Wild’s first series goal on a shot Allen likely should have handled.

With limited offense thus far and the outlook appearing bleak, look for the opposing goalies to continue to dictate the series’ pace.

The Minnesota Wild Were Calm

"Facing elimination from the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, Dubnyk on Wednesday morning appeared unruffled"

Even if he was the least bit rattled by facing an early vacation, Dubnyk wasn’t forced to be sharp early in Game 4. He did, however, have to be patient as the Wild generated 11 of the first 12 shots on goal.

Selected as a favorite to reach the Stanley Cup finals, the Wild went home after the Game 3 loss in St. Louis. They were rewarded a day to recharge. They returned, looked refocused and took advantage of the tentative Blues. The Wild’s fore-checkers prevented the Blues from fluidly moving the puck across the ice, which would have forced the defenders to disperse. Instead, the Wild played tight and allowed few qualify chances through the opening 20 minutes.

When the Blues finally forced the action, Dubnyk remained poised and posted his first shutout since Dec. 20. At home for Game 5, the Wild will count on Dubnyk to remain collected as the team attempts to climb back into the series.

Blues Miss Opportunity

The Blues couldn’t handle the pressure.

Poised Wednesday to become the first NHL team to venture into the second round of the playoffs, the Blues were at home and playing in front of the NHL’s hottest goalie, Allen, who entered Game 4 with a .974 series save percentage.

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They had all the advantages. They came out and played stiff.

From the start, the Blues looked different. They didn’t forecheck aggressively or go hard into the corners. One-on-one battles turned into one-on-nobody battles. The Blues committed six icing calls in the opening 10 minutes. They played as if they were relying too much on Allen, whose star has been on the rise this spring.

In this series defined by the goaltenders, who will play in the shadows Saturday?