Pity the poor teams at the top of the Western Conference standings. After a long and tiring 82-game season in which they proved their worth by winning a pile of hockey games, their reward isn’t going to be an easy first-round match against an overwhelmed opponent. Instead, they could find themselves facing the best team in the league since January. Or, alternatively, the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The bubble teams in the West this year are, frankly, terrifying.
The Minnesota Wild currently hold the top wild-card spot in the West, thanks to a surge that started when they acquired No. 1 goaltender Devan Dubnyk in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes. Dubnyk has been brilliant for the Wild, posting a 26-6-1 record and 0.939 save percentage. Minnesota understandably has ridden him for all he’s worth.
Dubnyk’s record with Minnesota makes it pretty clear that the Wild have been a good team since his arrival, but it doesn’t convey the full extent of the club’s dominance. Per War-on-Ice.com, these are all the teams in the NHL with a double-digit goal differential since Dubnyk’s fi ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
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March 31st, 2015 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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