The NHL Redux: Devan Dubnyk, the Wild and this time around

Three hundred and sixty-six days ago, Devan Dubnyk was booted off a sinking ship - his once promising NHL career, left to wash away.

Today, he breathes new life unto a group suffering from the same affliction that led to his previous undoing. A lack of confidence. Zero conviction.

It was only 18 saves and it was just the lowly Buffalo Sabres, but it was a start. His first start in a sixth sweater in 12 months time - the forest green and iron range red accents of the Minnesota Wild. 

From needing a lifeline, to becoming it. A year to the day. 

Of course, it became far worse before it got any better following his trade from the Edmonton Oilers last season. Dubnyk had lost consecutive starts with the Nashville Predators before being shipped to Montreal and promptly downgraded to the team's American Hockey League affiliate. 

Dubnyk would finish the season sitting on the end of a bench in a league he graduated from a half decade prior. He was on the cusp of free agency, having lost eight of his 10 starts since the trade, and with 31 goals allowed in the process in the minds of GMs league-wide.

"It was as close to rock bottom as you can get," Dubnyk told theScore a few days before his trade from the Arizona Coyotes. "I was in a three-goalie rotation on a non-playoff team in Hamilton. You try to find traction, some life, but really, you just want it to end. Push reset and move on."

Dubnyk would have a few months to stew is his desolation. Besides, he had earned it. But instead, he blinked, revealing his upshot in unclouded focus. 

He was making - well, had made - millions of dollars doing everything he ever wanted to do in life. And while he may have missed out on the opportunity to truly cash in, the cardinal aspect of making a living in sport remained. 

With that, and a humble understanding that his line of work is finite, Dubnyk developed a manifesto to revert a troubled mindset.

"I needed to step back and look at things differently," Dubnyk said. "(I) needed to sit down and just enjoy the opportunity I have of living my dream in the NHL - enjoy it every day. I am not thinking about wins, getting more starts or goals against.

"I am just enjoying playing hockey with my teammates."

In life, and in sport, timing is everything. 

Dubnyk was forced to bide his time in Edmonton, wasted little of it signing as a free agent in Arizona and required Darcy Kuemper to run out of it in order to land in Minnesota. 

But timing, for a goaltender, is far more than simply opportunity. It's a skill required to play the position assertively and thus, effectively. Rhythm is responsible for the fractional statistical differences that separate good goaltenders with the great, and struggling ones to those unruffled. 

"Confidence is the most important thing," Dubynk said. "It allows you to relax and play goal. Questioning paralyzes you as a goaltender, and I think that was happening in Edmonton. 

"The slightest hesitation will leave you a split second behind. Hesitation in the best league in the world will cost you."

Again, it was timing - and the pursuit of Connor McDavid - that spelled the end for Dubnyk in an Arizona Coyotes uniform. After all, Dubnyk had become too much of a solution for the team after having rediscovered his form. 

Dubnyk accounted for nine of the Coyotes' 16 wins in just 13 starts. He shaved (a hardly fractional) three quarters of a goal off his per-game average from a season ago and added 25 points to his save percentage. 

But what could have made him most attractive the the Wild - looking to aid a league-worst 5-on-5 team save percentage - is his sheer disregard for his former club. Dubnyk is 3-0 with a sparkling 0.97 goals-against average and 0.968 save percentage. 

And wouldn't you know it: the timing remains perfect. 

The Wild host the Coyotes on Saturday night and have three games on their remaining schedule versus the Oilers, who remain feverishly at work  scooping water from a ship still sinking.

The Next 48

Nashville Predators at Detroit Red Wings: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

Two old foes facing common concerns will revisit their long-standing rivalry for the first time in more than a calendar year as the Predators conclude the second half of a back-to-back in Detroit. 

Unfortunately, it'll be Carter Hutton versus Petr Mrazek (at best) with both teams having lost their All-Star calibre goaltenders in Jimmy Howard and Pekka Rinne to injury this week. But even with strong goaltending, Nashville and Detroit bring out a feverish, yet competitive pace from one another. The two teams have combined for 33 goals in an even split of the last six contests.

The Predators will look to remain atop the league standings, while the Detroit Red Wings can't afford to bemoan the loss of Howard with the hard-charging Boston Bruins hot on their heels. 

New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins: Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET

The surging New York Rangers can't yet catch the Pittsburgh Penguins in the tightly-contested Metropolitan Division, but they can continue to inch closer by the end of another busy weekend. 

The Rangers will once again play their third game in four nights, but this weekend's test pales in comparison to the three-game whirlwind through California, which resulted in six points in hand. Following a 3-0 loss to Boston on Thursday, there will be no such running of the table, but a four-point swing in the Division awaits Sunday afternoon.

The Penguins, meanwhile, have seen a soft schedule in the lead-up to the matinee, but that rest that could be coming at the wrong time. Sidney Crosby is finding his form, scoring four points in his last two games, but the Penguins only have five games scheduled in two weeks through to the All-Star break.

The Pylon

Cedric Paquette, that Napoleanic Complex of yours is going to get you killed.

After being throat-punched for first poking the Bruin, the Tampa Bay Lightning forward went back for more!

Just play it cool, man. 

Parting Shots (All-Star edition)

1) Justin Faulk has had a nice little offensive season, but if him being an All-Star means P.K. Subban isn't, the whole process needs to be reevaluated. 

2) To that point, Faulk was the ONLY defenseman selected from the Eastern Conference. He might not be a top-20 defenseman in the entire Eastern Conference. 

3) Patrice Bergeron will make his first appearance in his 11th season, while Drew Doughty has won two Stanley Cups, two Olympic golds and a World Championship before playing in his first.

4) Remember hiding out of sight from the downtrodden captain in gym class who used his first few picks on his downtrodden friends? I'd tuck myself behind Dustin Byfuglien with Team Foligno selecting. (I'm also not an NHL All-Star).

5) If the selection from the New Jersey Devils was that of legacy, why not pick Jaromir Jagr? Patrik Elias can't even convince himself he's an All-Star. 

6) With no Sedins, Karlssons, Zetterbergs or Backstroms, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the lone representative from Sweden compared to three from the Czech Republic.

7) Meanwhile, there are representatives from Slovakia, Slovenia and Latvia, but none from Finland. 

8) If Tyler Johnson can't go, will anyone bat an eye?

9) In losing Rinne and Howard, the All-Star game adds five shutouts with replacements Jaroslav Halak and Marc-Andre Fleury. 

10) Latvia better darn well stay up and watch.