Colorado Avalanche 0
Minnesota Wild 3
Darcy Keumper earned his first win of the season when he came into the net in relief of Devan Dubnyk, stopping all nine shots he faced to close out a 3-0 Wild shutout of the Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center Saturday night.
1. Tag-team goalies
Keumper played the final 29 minutes of the game after Dubnyk was injured while blocking a shot by Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla with 9:52 remaining in the second period.
After making the save, Dubnyk pushed off on his left leg and clutched his left knee, according to NHL.com. He headed to the bench during the next stoppage and left the game with 9:05 left in the second. He’d made 11 saves before coming out.
After the #MNWild W vs. the @Avalanche, Darcy Kuemper said: 'The guys did a great job for me.' @mnwild https://t.co/6tOAtAwxvC
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) December 6, 2015
2. Domination
The Wild played aggressive offense all night, with 44 shots on goal compared to 20 for the Avalanche. They set the tone in the first period, with a 17-6 shot advantage, even though they didn’t get on the scoreboard until the second period on a Matt Dumba goal.
The effort was similar in the third, with the Wild having a 15-4 shot advantage. Jason Pominville scored an empty-netter with 62 seconds left to put the game out of reach. It was the team’s first empty-net goal of the season.
The Wild (14-7-4) have won three straight.
3. Baby watch
Dubnyk’s wife is due to deliver the couple’s second child any day now, and until he got hurt in the game, the team was more concerned about whether Dubnyk would miss any games when the baby arrives. Now, the question becomes whether he’ll miss time due to his knee.
Yeo doesn't expect Dubnyk's injury to be serious, has an appointment tomorrow. Unlikely to go to Denver anyway bc of "baby watch" #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 6, 2015
Before it was clear that Dubnyk was hurt, some thought he left the game early because his wife had gone into labor. Not so, it turned out.
https://twitter.com/spofarrell/status/673327243456724994
Darcy Kuemper on in relief for Devan Dubnyk in the Wild/Avs game. Apparent injury, not "wife/baby related".
— Nick Bracken (@bracken303) December 6, 2015
Tweet of the night:
A pretty goal by Justin Fontaine in the third period.
Now THAT was a sweet tip by @J_Fontaine37 đź‘Ś#mnwild pic.twitter.com/K8Ye1zrMgw
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 6, 2015
Next up:
The same two teams play each other again Monday night, this time in Colorado. This is the fifth season in a row they have played home-and-home games, according to NHL.com. And in each previous season, the team that won the first game also won the second.
