Three days ago, I wrote about some slippage in goalie Devan Dubnyk's play — a small decrease in both save percentage and overall sharpness that preceded even the Game 4 meltdown but was certainly prominent in that game.
I suggested the Wild would need MVP-level Dubnyk to return if it was going to prevail in the series. Whether that was ultimately true or not, the need to revisit his play is only fair because this much is not in dispute: Dubnyk was dynamite in Games 5 and 6, certainly returning to maximum sharpness at a time Minnesota needed him most.
The Wild outscored the Blues 8-2 in the two final games, so it is arguable whether even a merely good Dubnyk would have been enough. It was a full team effort (just as the Game 4 loss was). But It feels to me like he was their most important player, at least, particularly in Game 5. And the difference between Dubnyk and Blues goalie Jake Allen was striking.
There is no doubt of this now: Dubnyk is a goalie the Wild can count on going forward. That doesn't guarantee a Stanley Cup or even another series win this year, but if the last remaining questions were about his playoff moxie and ability to rebound mentally, Dubnyk has aced those tests.
It's one of those rare midseason trades that just fits perfectly for both the player and the team, and the story continues.