Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk has been in net nearly every night this season for Minnesota. But he sat out Tuesday’s practice as he continues to recover from an injury he suffered Saturday night against Denver.
Dubnyk left the game against the Avalanche early after suffering a mild groin strain. Darcy Kuemper finished the game, combining with Dubnyk to post a shutout.
Kuemper then started in his place Monday night in Denver and stopped 18 of the 20 shots he faced in a 2-1 overtime loss. It was just the third game this season that Dubnyk had not started in net.
Coach Mike Yeo told reporters Tuesday that Dubnyk wanted to skate durins practice, but they decided to hold him out instead.
At wild: Dubnyk wanted to skate today but the coaching staff felt it was smart to keep him out with off day tomorrow. Likely practices Thurs
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) December 8, 2015
“We felt with a day off [Wednesday], a day wasn’t really going to do him any good,” Yeo said. “(Practice) wasn’t going to make him a better goaltender today, but I’m pretty sure having an extra day of rest would definitely give him a better chance to heal up.”
Minnesota has a day off Wednesday, then travels to Arizona after Thursday’s practice. Yeo expects that Dubnyk will be there.
“I have a real strong feeling we’ll see him Thursday for practice,” Yeo said.
