ST. PAUL, Minn. _ Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk has cemented his status as team MVP through the first three weeks of the season through his play between the pipes, turning aside 95 percent of the shots he's faced.
But now he's starting to also make a difference on offense.
Aside from making 23 saves at one end, Dubnyk helped set up a goal at the other _ earning an assist on the eventual clincher in a 4-1 win over the Kings on Thursday in front of 18,778 at Xcel Energy Center that extended the team's win streak to a season-high four games.
It was the second straight game in which a Wild netminder not only chipped in an assist but a meaningful one, as backup Alex Stalock had the secondary helper on the overtime tally in the 5-4 victory over the Lightning last Saturday.
This go-around, center Charlie Coyle scooped up the puck after Dubnyk's touch and fed it to defenseman Jonas Brodin, who wired in a shot 14 minutes, 22 seconds into the second period from just inside the left faceoff circle.
That put the Wild up 2-0, as the fourth line opened the scoring in the first period _ the second straight game it's contributed a goal.
Winger Marcus Foligno threw the puck toward the front of the net from the left side, and the puck bounced off center Eric Fehr and by Kings goalie Jack Campbell as Fehr was hauled down by defenseman Jake Muzzin.
Foligno immediately celebrated with Fehr, who was laid out along the end boards, but the sequence was reviewed before it was deemed a good goal at 15:13 _ Fehr's first with the Wild. Defenseman Ryan Suter, who was skating in his 1,000th career game, had the secondary assist on the play.
The goal was part of a better finish to the period for the Wild, as the team predictably seemed to take some time to get up to speed after a four-day lull in the schedule.
That reality combined with Los Angeles' five-game losing streak could have been a dangerous combination for the Wild, but the group's poise trumped the Kings' desperation _ which did spark one goal.
Just 3:39 into the third, winger Kyle Clifford _ who was penalized early in the game for tripping up rookie Jordan Greenway _ buried a Nick Seeler turnover behind Dubnyk.
An ensuing power play for the Wild gave them a chance to reinstate their two-goal cushion, but the Wild blanked on the opportunity. It finished the game 0-for-4, a negative on the night with the unit struggling to put pucks on net.
The Kings also had consecutive power plays later in the period; after the Wild killed off a Greenway cross-checking penalty, the Kings went right back on the man advantage when Greenway was called for interference after exiting the box.
But Los Angeles couldn't convert on that opportunity or another late look and went 0-for-4 _ inefficiency that helped Brodin's tally hold up, with empty-netters from winger Mikael Granlund at 19:15 and captain Mikko Koivu at 19:36 providing insurance. Granlund's goal came shorthanded.
Although he didn't factor into the Brodin goal, winger Nino Niederreiter acted as a screen on the play _ an encouraging sign that he's getting closer to busting out of his scoreless start to the season.
Dubnyk's assist was also the seventh of his career and sixth with the Wild to become the franchise leader _ surpassing Nicklas Backstrom's previous record of five.
Campbell had 22 stops for the Kings.
