Getting ushered into games at random times is normal protocol for Wild backup Alex Stalock. In just the fourth game of the season he appeared in the second period, mop-up duty in an eventual 7-4 loss to the Penguins.
What's more rare is taking over due to an injury, the circumstance Stalock found himself in Tuesday when Devan Dubnyk left the game after a second-period collision.
But the transition didn't sting the Wild. Instead, the team held on for a 3-0 win over the Oilers at Xcel Energy Center to mark just the second time in franchise history that a pair of netminders combined for a shutout victory.
"Gotta be ready at all times," Stalock said. "That's part of the job."
Unlike baseball where a reliever gets a handful of warm-up tosses, Stalock didn't take any shots to prepare. He stretched briefly and then was between the pipes, one of the most critical moments of the game in front of him.
SARAH MCLELLAN
