You don't have to go digging too hard to find ways to illustrate how good Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk has been this year — since he is leading qualified NHL goalies in both save percentage (94.6) and goals-against average (1.65).
That said, there is a statistic a little off the beaten path that give a fuller explanation of just how good Dubnyk has been — and just how valuable he has been to the Wild:
Goals saved above average.
This is basically the number of goals a goalie has prevented above and beyond the league average for the number of shots he has faced. Dubnyk again leads the NHL in this category with a mind-blowing 19.5 goals saved above average. Only two other goalies are even above 10.
If you're looking for a reason the Wild is leading the Western Conference in goal differential (plus-16), this is a good place to start. If Dubnyk were playing like a league average goalie, the Wild would have a goal-differential deficit.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
