After a rough start, Devan Dubnyk is holding happily at zero

It's interesting how streaks get started.

For much of the early part of this NHL season, Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk didn't look comfortable. He wasn't exactly fighting the puck, but the results didn't lie: Through his first 11 starts, Dubnyk had just a .903 save percentage and had allowed 32 goals. The Wild went 4-6-1 in those games, part of a slow start to a season filled with big expectations.

The last of those 11 games was an unexpected start in Toronto for Dubnyk. Backup Alex Stalock was supposed to play, but instead he was called back to Minnesota to be with his wife as she gave birth to their daughter, Selena. Stalock stayed in Minnesota for a couple more days, and Dubnyk started again the next night after giving up three goals on 18 shots in that game against Toronto.

The next start went much better. Dubnyk stopped all 41 shots he saw in a 3-0 Wild victory. He got the call two nights later in Philadelphia, even though Stalock had rejoined the team, and delivered a 32-save shutout.

Back home in Minnesota on Tuesday, the Wild rode the hot hand. Dubnyk responded with his third consecutive shutout, again over the Flyers, breaking his own team record in the process by running his streak to 195 minutes, 5 seconds without allowing a goal.

The Wild is now 8-7-2. With another win at home Thursday over Nashville, Minnesota would have the same 18-game record — 9-7-2 — as it did a season ago. Wild coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed the obvious Wednesday, saying Dubnyk will start again vs. the Predators.

The natural questions: 1) How long can he keep this streak going? 2) How long does he need to keep it going to have a chance at more than just a team record?

On the second question, we know this: Dubnyk will need to record shutouts in his next two games (120 minutes total) and for most of the first period of his next start after that to match the NHL record streak of 3:32:01 set by Brian Boucher when he was with the Coyotes during the 2003-04 season.

Interestingly, Boucher set his record and notched his fifth consecutive shutout in a game against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. In an interview with NHL.com earlier this year, Boucher recalled getting a standing ovation from the crowd at the X.

We'll see if Dubnyk can sustain the combination of skill and luck needed to seriously threaten the record. He's more than halfway there, at least.