Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk will be between the pipes Wednesday against the Ducks and if it's his last start of the regular season, he won't mind the downtime before the first round of the playoffs start next week.
"It's fine," Dubnyk said. "The difference between three or four days or five or six days isn't a big deal. It's always a little bit different than going every other day, but you go through so many times like this during the year. Just stay sharp, and that's why you use every game during the regular season to really get that routine and so even if you've been off for a week, as soon as it's the morning of the game and you start to get into things again it's just a switch and you're right back into it."
Backup Alex Stalock is expected to finish off the second half of the back-to-back Thursday against the Kings, and it's unclear at this point who the Wild will tab for the finale Saturday in San Jose. Even if he doesn't appear in that game, it looks like Dubnyk has already discovered a rhythm heading into the postseason.
He's coming off his fifth shutout of the season Monday against the Oilers, which was the 29th of his career. Since Nov. 9, he's 30-9-6 with a 2.40 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.
"Ever since the L.A. game [March 19], I think Devan's been really sharp in the net on every occasion and that's a great sign," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "If your goalie's your best player, then you're usually having a lot of success."
Projected lineup:
Zach Parise-Mikko Koivu-Mikael Granlund
Jason Zucker-Eric Staal-Nino Niederreiter
