Dubnyk expects to regain starting goalie position for Wild

Devan Dubnyk said he believes his life eventually will return to normal, and that includes being the No. 1 goalie for the Minnesota Wild.

The 34-year-old, who made the NHL All-Star Game for a third time last season, lost his starting job to Alex Stalock before the NHL paused this season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

"I'm the same goalie that I've been for my entire career, and I certainly expect to be a starting goalie," Dubnyk said Thursday. "And certainly expect to be that again."

It's unclear what the Wild goalie plan will be if the NHL resumes this season. Before play was halted, Stalock clearly was Minnesota's No. 1 and helping its drive toward a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

During an 8-3-0 surge that put the Wild (35-27-7) one point behind the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card from the Western Conference, Stalock started eight times. That included seven straight before Dubnyk started a 5-4 overtime win at the Anaheim Ducks on March 8 in Minnesota's final game before the pause.

While Stalock has excelled, going 11-4-1 with a 2.25 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage and three shutouts since Jan. 16, Dubnyk hasn't been able find his rhythm all season. After losses in his first five starts, Dubnyk (12-15-2) won consecutive starts twice, Oct. 20-22 and Dec. 23-27.

His 3.35 GAA in 30 games is his worst since his 3.43 in 34 games in 2013-14 with the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville. His .890 save percentage is his worst since his .889 in 19 games as a 23-year-old rookie with Edmonton in 2009-10.

"The biggest thing I said right before this all happened is the reason we're here and the reason we play is to win," Dubnyk said. "Of course I'm as competitive as anybody and I always expect to be in the net every night. But the reason we're here is winning, and if you've got a guy that's playing as well as [Alex] was and we're winning hockey games, then I'm going to sit there and enjoy it and be with my team and enjoy winning and just make sure that whenever I'm called on to play that I'm ready to contribute."

Dubnyk has had plenty of time to reflect on all he's been through this season during the past eight weeks. Missing some time in November and December while his wife, Jenn, dealt with a medical situation, and losing his No. 1 job after he returned, provided perspective.

"I said this to Jenn," he said. "I can't really say it because of her privacy, but it was something about, 'Can you imagine before the season started if I told you that I was going to start the season 0-5, miss five weeks due to health concerns, and come back and lose my starting job only to have the season be canceled by a global pandemic? What do you think you'd tell me?'

"That pretty much sums how ridiculous and crazy this season has been."

The good news is Jenn is doing much better now and the unexpected pause of the season has given him more time to spend with her and their three young sons. That was the silver lining, at least initially.

"It's getting long now," he said. "Everybody wants to get back. But I think for the first little while after the pause to just be home and be with everybody, just kind of getting back (to normal was good). Jenn was continuing to feel better each day. … I think the most important thing is just getting back to that normalcy that we're used to as a family.

"It was nice for a little bit, and I'm certainly fine with getting back to the way things were before now."

That would include playing hockey. Dubnyk said he hasn't been able to skate, but he has a small gym and a Peloton bike in his basement that's helped him stay in shape in case the season is resumed.

With so many unknowns, Dubnyk, who can become a free agent after next season, remains hopeful that hockey will return and life will go back to normal.

"Whenever that is, who knows?" he said. "Who knows how long that takes? Obviously we all hope that it's shorter because that means good news on the health side of it. But you can't imagine life not getting back to the way it was. It just seems impossible to not at some point."