From the Rink: Wild hopes Dubnyk's experience edge pays dividends

WINNIPEG -- Expect the unexpected. It's a mantra fans of teams across the NHL have grown used to when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But for many players, fresh off the grind of an 82-game season, there isn't much left to the imagination. While anything can, and generally does, occur during the playoffs, surprises that happen from here on out really aren't much of a surprise.

"There really isn't that unexpected nature," said Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk. "The game is played the same way, everything is just magnified. Everybody gets a lot more excited about things. But at the end of the day, as far as everybody is concerned, especially myself, you go stop the puck the same way you do any other game. The more you get that in your head, the better off you're going to be."
Minnesota is hoping for no surprises on Wednesday when it faces the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of a First Round series at Bell MTS Place.
Dubnyk in particular had quality individual success in the postseason last year, posting a 1.86 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. Those numbers are more than good enough to help a team advance in the postseason in most circumstances.
Unfortunately for the Wild, it was surprised by St. Louis' Jake Allen, who played perhaps the best stretch of hockey in his career, helping to oust the Wild in five games.
Dubnyk gained five more games of playoff experience last season and has now played in 21 postseason games -- 21 more than when he arrived in Minnesota three years ago.
The hope is that some of that experience can help pay dividends. Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had a Vezina Trophy-caliber season, but has never played in a playoff game.

"Time will tell," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said when asked if Dubnyk's experience could be a benefit in the series. "They're both really good goalies. I don't know if experience is going to count right off the bat."
Dubnyk said that from a mental standpoint, things have gotten easier for him in each successive trip to the playoffs. Mistakes don't affect him as negatively and success doesn't get him too high anymore.
Managing those emotions are some of the biggest keys to playoff hockey, and learning to manage it can only come with experience.
"I think you just learn how to deal with it and deal with different situations," Dubnyk said. "For myself, it's always a challenge during the playoffs to drown out the noise and the outside things that everybody talks about and magnifies. But the more experience you have, the better off you're able to do that. That's something I'll try to use to my advantage moving forward."

Defenseman Jared Spurgeon is still classified as a game-time decision but took part in morning skate and could re-join the Wild lineup for the first time since sustaining a hamstring injury March 13 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Here are the projected lineups:
WILD
Jason Zucker - Eric Staal - Nino Niederreiter
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Jordan Greenway - Matt Cullen - Charlie Coyle
Marcus Foligno - Joel Eriksson Ek - Daniel Winnik
Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy - Jared Spurgeon
Nick Seeler - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
JETS
Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers - Paul Stastny - Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault - Bryan Little - Joel Armia
Andrew Copp - Adam Lowry - Brandon Tanev
Josh Morrissey - Jacob Trouba
Joe Morrow - Dustin Byfuglien
Ben Chiarot - Tyler Myers
Connor Hellebuyck
Steve Mason
Related:
- Playoff Central - Wild Warmup: Minnesota at Winnipeg, Game 1 - Cullen excited for another -- and perhaps final -- Cup push - Spurgeon nears return on youthful blueline