It is becoming almost redundant but we start the three-game sweep of the NHL with the Minnesota Wild and their 2-1 shootout win over the New York Islanders Tuesday.
Devan Dubnyk made 37 saves through extra time and all three shooters he faced in the talent portion of the game.
“It’s been crazy. It’s been really crazy,” Dubnyk said. “It’s fun to think back. It wasn’t fun to go through last year, but it’s pretty cool to have this turnaround. More than anything, 
it’s just fun to be a part of these important games and be winning games that mean so much to us. We’ve just come so far as a group and we’ve gotten real close in here. It’s fun to be a part of something like this.”
Zach Parise’s goal midway through the third period tied things up at one all.
“He (Dubnyk) just deserves this story right now,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said. “He deserves to be talked about. I think it is a great story not only for us and certainly for him, but for the game. To show what he went through last year, how he battled, and if you know him, the attitude that he has. It’s a guy that you want to cheer for. We’re all very pleased obviously for what he’s done for us, but also for himself.”
John Tavares gave the Isles the lead in the second period with his 34th goal of the year.
“You’ve just got to find a way to be better than the goalie when you have your chances,” Tavares said. “You’ve got to find a way to put it by him. It’s part of competing, it’s part of our game. We had good looks, good chances.”
For Dubnyk, it was his 32nd straight start for the Wild.
“I’ve always believed that I can play lots of games and be a starter,” Dubnyk said. “Obviously when you have a year like [that], you don’t know if that opportunity is going to come again. I just try to enjoy it and work for that chance. I certainly didn’t think it was going to come halfway through one season, but to get to come to a team like this, it’s just been unbelievable.”
In Nashville, Filip Forsberg‘s marker less than two minutes into extra time gave the Predators a much needed quality win over the Montreal Canadiens.
“Obviously [Ribeiro] made a really nice play,” Forsberg said. “I just tapped it in. I think we had a couple of good looks working it up top with [Shea Weber] and [Roman Josi] there and just tried to draw a couple of guys up there, and then it was just a 2-on-1 down low. [Ribeiro] made a really nice pass.”
After a stretch of losses and near misses the Predators have won two straight.
“I think it was probably one of the best hockey games we’ve played all year,” Forsberg said. “They played really good, we played really good, so it was a really good hockey game overall. I think the fans really enjoyed it.”
The Habs became the first team to reach the century mark in points as they chase down the President’s Trophy in the NHL.
“We’ve got eight games left, so we’re trying to get better with every game and get into the playoff mode before it comes here,” Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty said. “We liked the effort in the game played tonight, but not the result. We’re looking on to Winnipeg now.”
In Detroit, the odds finally came up for the visiting Arizona Coyotes who used Mark Arcobello‘s goal with under two left in extra time to defeat the host Red Wings, 5-4.
“It’s nice to get a win. We’ve been going through a rough stretch of games,” said Arcobello, who also scored in the second period and had an assist. “Any time you can get a win on the road, it’s good.”
The win snapped an eight-game skid for the Coyotes who had won once in 20 games.
“[Oliver Ekman-Larsson] gave me a nice pass and I had a lot of speed going,” Arcobello said. “[Zidlicky] got a stick on me. I was lucky enough to find a hole.”
Mike Smith made 33 saves for the win.
“Our guys competed, Smith had a real strong game in goal, and big performances from Arcobello and Moss,” Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. “… For the most part, we competed hard and we hung around.”
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