Starter Devan Dubnyk has had control of the Wild's crease for more than two weeks, rattling off six straight starts.
But his run is about to end, as the Wild will tab backup Alex Stalock to face the Devils Thursday in Newark when the team's three-game road trip continues.
"We have to have both goalies playing well," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Plus, we have to play well in front of both goalies. Recently, we haven't played very well in front of Alex. He tries his heart out, and we don't give him some support so hopefully tomorrow that'll change."
This will be Stalock's first start since Feb. 3 when he surrendered four goals on 29 shots in two periods to the Stars in Dallas. Stalock was pulled after the second period, absorbing the eventual 6-1 loss to stand 8-9-2 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
In two career starts against New Jersey, Stalock is 1-1 with a 3.51 goals-against average and .877 save percentage. He and the rest of the team was on the ice Wednesday for practice after a day off Tuesday.
Thursday is the first half of a back-to-back, with the Wild concluding its road trip Friday in New York against the Rangers. Backups tend to receive the second game of back-to-backs, but Boudreau acknowledged that's not always fair to the backup.
And although the team hasn't played since Monday when it posted a 5-3 win over the Islanders in Brooklyn, it certainly started the road swing off with a dose of positive momentum that could help it when it resumes action against the Devils.
"Hopefully we're building off our energy off the last game," Boudreau said, "and [Stalock] reaps the benefits."
