Fantasy top 30 goalies: Dubnyk thriving with Wild

Every Thursday during the season, NHL.com's Evan Sporer will provide you with in-depth analysis of goaltenders. From updated weekly top 30 rankings to trending players and more, Sporer will be your go-to guy for advice on fantasy goalies all season long.

Devan Dubnyk isn't the hero many in Minnesota expected, but he's certainly performed the role of hero quite well.

Or maybe the Minnesota Wild saved Dubnyk. How one defines the situation is a matter of semantics, but one thing that's not up for debate is Dubnyk's resurgence in Minnesota and how much he's been able to help the Wild in such a short period of time.

On Jan. 14, Dubnyk was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to Minnesota for a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Trading for a goalie in-season is never a sure-fire proposition but the Wild were desperately in need of help in the crease. Prior to Dubnyk's acquisition, Minnesota was tied for last in the League in on-ice save percentage at .889, according to war-on-ice.com.

Dubnyk, facing a heavy workload in Arizona, had a .916 save percentage in his 19 appearances with the Coyotes this season prior to the trade. One could have predicted Dubnyk would have offered the Wild better goaltending than they were getting, but that wasn't entirely saying much.

Yet Dubnyk has risen to the level of the League's elites in his short time in Minnesota. Since debuting for the Wild on Jan. 15, Dubnyk ranks fifth with a .941 percentage among goalies who have played at least 400 minutes, according to war-on-ice.com.

When Dubnyk earned his fourth shutout in his ninth start, he became the fastest goalie to have four shutouts with a team among goalies who debuted in the expansion era, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Dubnyk's job has been much easier since joining the Wild. During his time in Arizona, Dubnyk faced an average of 32.5 shots per 60 minutes, which ranked the eighth-highest among goalies, according to war-on-ice.com. Add to that the Coyotes were allowing 29 scoring chances against per 60 minutes in (fifth-most among any team League) and Dubnyk's minutes weren't exactly pressure-free.

Minnesota, however, has provided Dubnyk with a cushier work environment. Dubnyk has faced an average of 25.7 shots per 60 minutes since joining the Wild, the second-fewest in the League, according to war-on-ice.com, only behind Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's also a drop-off of more than six shots per 60 minutes, or the difference between the stingiest team as far as average shots allowed per 60 minutes this season, and the second-highest team overall.

Devan Dubnyk

STATS PRIOR TO FEB. 12 GAMES

RECORD: 17-6-3
GAA: 2.27 | SVP: .924

Essentially, Dubnyk went from a team that allowed high-volume, high-risk shot opportunities to one that, even before he got there, was excellent in terms of shot and quality suppression. His improvements have been considerable, but not unpredictable.

Of goalies to change teams midseason, Dubnyk has been (at least so far) one of the biggest success stories in recent memory. Dwayne Roloson helped the Edmonton Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 after an in-season trade, but had very mediocre numbers in the regular season. Patrick Roy won 22 games for the Colorado Avalanche in 1995-96 after an in-season trade and helped them win the Stanley Cup that season.

Should Dubnyk continue to perform at his current level, he'll enter the territory of those two trades.

Curtis McElhinney

STATS PRIOR TO FEB. 12 GAMES

RECORD: 7-9-1
GAA: 2.84 | SVP: .914

Curtis McElhinney, Columbus Blue Jackets

Getting the bulk of the minutes in Columbus' goal with Sergei Bobrovsky out, McElhinney has put up strong numbers even if his record does not reflect that. McElhinney has gone 3-3-0, but with a .920 save percentage. He's giving the Blue Jackets a chance to win every night, and two of his three losses have been one-goal games. He's owned in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues, which is a pretty low number.

TRENDING DOWN

Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

As Los Angeles is battling for playoff position, Quick is battling his own struggles. Quick has allowed three or more goals in five of his past seven starts and, dating back to when he was pulled against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 3 after allowing three goals on nine shots, is 3-6-3 with an .891 save percentage. Quick has won his past two starts (five goals allowed on 54 shots) but with the Kings in desperate need of points, Quick needs to steady his play.

KEEP AN EYE ON

The Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks

John Gibson

STATS PRIOR TO FEB. 12 GAMES

RECORD: 2-2-0
GAA: 2.66 | SVP: .915

In Detroit, Jimmy Howard and Jonas Gustavsson are each getting healthy at the same time. Howard is reportedly starting Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, while Petr Mrazek -- who filled in while they were both out -- started Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but was pulled in favor of Howard to start the third period. Howard should resume his role as starter, but coming off an injury, whoever hangs around as the backup would be a worthwhile fantasy asset. If Mrazek wins the backup job, with Gustavsson an unrestricted free agent this summer, he's certainly a trade possibility with the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. on March 2 approaching.

TOP 30 FANTASY GOALIES

These modified re-rankings are a projection of a goalie's fantasy output for the entire season. Our ranks are based on volume categories like games played, wins, saves, goals-against average (GAA) and save percentage (SV%). The plus or minus for each player is movement based on our most recent rankings from last week (NR means not ranked in previous rankings). It is important to note that our rankings reflect sheer fantasy value, not talent. A less-talented goalie could be ranked higher due to their team's strong defense and offense.

1	Carey Price, MTL (SAME)	16	Semyon Varlamov, COL (SAME)
2	Pekka Rinne, NSH (SAME)	17	Cam Talbot, NYR (+9)
3	Tuukka Rask, BOS (+2)	18	Kari Lehtonen, DAL (+1)
4	Brian Elliott, STL (SAME)	19	Jonathan Quick, LAK (-4)
5	Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT (+1)	20	Antti Niemi, SJS (-2)
6	Corey Crawford, CHI (+1)	21	Jonas Hiller, CGY (+2)
7	Roberto Luongo, FLA (+1)	22	Craig Anderson, OTT (NR - IR)
8	Braden Holtby, WAS (+3)	23	Curtis McElhinney, CBJ (+6)
9	Jaroslav Halak, NYI (+3)	24	Petr Mrazek, DET (-4)
10	Ben Bishop, TBL (-1)	25	Martin Jones, LAK (NR - IR)
11	Ryan Miller, VAN (+2)	26	Antti Raanta, CHI (-1)
12	Devan Dubnyk, MIN (+10)	27	Alex Stalock, SJS (+1)
13	Jimmy Howard, DET (NR - IR)	28	Jake Allen, STL (-1)
14	Cory Schneider, NJD (+3)	29	Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (NEW)
15	Michael Hutchinson, WPG (-1)	30	John Gibson, ANA (NEW)

Dropped out: Jonathan Bernier, Robin Lehner

Key injuries: Henrik Lundqvist, Frederik Andersen, Sergei Bobrovsky, Steve Mason

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