Dumba's overtime heroics snaps goal skid in style

ST. PAUL -- Matt Dumba bounced around the Wild dressing room with the kind of enthusiasm folks haven't seen in some time.
Scoring the game-winning goal in overtime will do that for you.
Dumba's fourth goal of the season 2:21 into extra time lifted the Wild in a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. But this wasn't just a run-of-the-mill overtime winner. Dumba's goal snapped a near three-month dry spell in the goal-scoring department, lifting a giant weight off his shoulders in the process.

"Yeah, that was good. I don't know how to describe it," Dumba said. "Obviously, it was good scoring in OT but it'd kind of been a long time coming. This feels good. I was trying not to think about it but now getting it, yeah, it felt awesome."
After the goal, Dumba was mobbed by his teammates, who have seen first hand the toll has taken on, normally, one of the most energetic players on the team's roster.
Between near misses, posts and unfortunate bounces off skates and leg pads, Dumba's goal was his first in 34 games, this after he scored 12 goals in 32 games last year before a season-ending injury cut his campaign short in December.

"Oh my gosh. It's been amazing to watch his chances. Like, sticks getting in the way last second, hitting our own guys. Tonight in the first period, he had a Grade-A chance and we have a guy go right in front. You never know on chances like that," said Wild goaltender Alex Stalock. "It's funny how this game works and I hope that's the start of a lot to come here. I think you can see it in his eyes the way he walked out of here. It's a weight off his shoulder, I know that."
Dumba's winner set up perfectly, but the finish was rather unorthodox.
"I knew right when I jumped off the bench, their high guy that was kind of following [Mats Zuccarello], he was kind of gassed and I jumped in behind him and I was just trying to go to the net as fast as I could," Dumba said. "I was thinking I was going to one-T it at the start but it was kind of at the back of my stance because I was going kind of fast and then I just wanted to just take it right to the net."
The puck hopped up in the air and just across the goal line past the glove of Corey Crawford, but that wasn't Dumba's intent.
"I was trying to jam five-hole and someone poked checked me and the thing just popped right up over him and then I just kind of saw it fall in behind," he said.
Then, bedlam.
"That was awesome. I don't know what was better, the goal or the celly. But a lot of energy that was built up for awhile," said Wild forward Marcus Foligno. "It's just huge to see him get it. Even better that it was a game-winner. I mean, he's been so close, he's been shooting a lot more. Just snake bit. He's one guy who's snakebit. It's one thing if you see his work ethic failing, but it's not. He works hard everyday. He's a great player. Just a matter of time before he scored."

Dumba said he feels he and defensive partner Jonas Brodin have settled into a nice rhythm over the past handful of games. And while the stretch of no goals may have been frustrating at first, he knew it was simply a matter of time before those posts would start falling.
"Everyone goes through those droughts at one point or another and I'm glad I have great teammates around me, good staff. Everyone kind of pushed me through that," Dumba said. "To get where I am now, I just want to keep playing as well as I am for the boys, just trying to stay solid with [Brodin] and make a push here this last third."
Wild forward Kevin Fiala, who scored twice on Tuesday, has seen an uptick in Dumba's overall play as well.

"He's playing so good lately. A lot of posts. It's just unlucky for him and didn't go his way," Fiala said. "Just watching him scoring was awesome. He deserves it. He's working hard every day. He's such a leader. Just great to see."
If not for Dumba's late heroics, Fiala's offensive effort would have been the headline of the night. The speedy winger scored each of the Wild's two goals in regulation, firing snap shots past Crawford 12 minutes apart in the second period to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead headed to the third.
After Chicago scored two goals 10 minutes apart in the third to tie it up, Fiala went hunting for his first hat trick with the Wild in overtime, dazzling the crowd with his speed and playmaking ability with all the extra ice in 3-on-3.

"There's nights you look at Kevin and he's so dynamic," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "He's bringing people out of their seats, quite frankly. If he can continue to do that it'd be pretty special."
Minnesota moved to within three points of the Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings (with one game in hand), but more importantly, erased an ugly start to the stretch run in a 6-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
With games against a bunch of teams right around them in the standings coming in the next few games, including one versus the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, getting the week started on a winning note was critical.
"It was huge. We all know how big these games are and what's at stake. We gotta step up here. We got a good veteran team. These guys know how to do it at this time of the year," Dumba said. "It's something that you kind of got to learn but a lot of guys have been in this situation before. I'm really looking forward to what we have ahead and everyone's excited here."
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