For Alex Stalock, everything starts with his feet. When the Wild goalie is playing well, he is comfortable and solid on his skates, which enables him to establish his position and move with speed and agility.
Those feet have carried Stalock to superb performances in his past two games, including a 3-2 victory Thursday over Tampa Bay. He helped to hoist the Wild out of a serious funk, stopping 18 of 20 shots as the team ended a four-game winless streak. It was his first game since Jan. 9, when he turned away 35 of 37 shots in a 2-1 loss at Calgary.
Thursday night, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said "we'll have to talk about it" when asked whether Stalock might start Saturday vs. Dallas at Xcel Energy Center. He wouldn't elaborate Friday, either, after a practice at Tria Rink. Whenever that next appearance comes, Stalock plans to put his best foot forward.
"The foundation for me is, I have to have good feet," said Stalock, who is 10-7 this season. "I have to be set, and I have to be quick and strong.
"When that gets lazy and sloppy, that's when my game starts not being sharp. That's one thing I got back to really focusing on, being crisp and staying with it. Having that strong base I've worked on, it's given me a chance every night."
Stalock's 21 starts and 1,276 minutes are the second-highest season totals of his career. He leads the Wild with 10 victories, a goals-against average of 2.96 and save percentage of .903.
With 35 games remaining, Stalock could surpass his career highs of 23 starts and 1,495 minutes, set with the Wild in 2017-18.
Hockey Day is here
Boudreau won't be watching the high school and college games during Saturday's Hockey Day Minnesota, but he has an appreciation for the unofficial holiday. He considers it "a big deal," and he made sure the players were aware of that.