The Wild could repair two weeks of up-and-down play that spiraled into the team's longest losing streak of the season with just one period.
That's how coach Bruce Boudreau set up the third and final frame Tuesday, as a chance at redemption, and the catalyst for the solid 20 minutes that ensued was the one player Boudreau figured wanted to seize that opportunity the most.
Goalie Devan Dubnyk.
"And he did," Boudreau said.
Dubnyk turned aside 14 shots in the final frame to seal a 3-2 win over the Canucks at Rogers Arena that nixed the Wild's three-game slide.
It was Dubnyk's first win since Nov.15, which also came against Vancouver. He racked up 29 total saves.
"As long as you just stick with the process and those little things that I know I need to do," Dubnyk said, "then I'll be OK. I'd be lying if I said it doesn't get harder and harder to do that as things continue and you don't get the wins and pucks are going in this way and that way. It becomes more and more of a challenge to do, but you just gotta find a way to do it. Otherwise, things do slow down and then pucks start going in that shouldn't be going in and that's the last thing you need."
Although Dubnyk was steady, the players in front of him were sound, too.