Dumba's big hit electrifies arena, teammates in Wild win over Avs

ST. PAUL -- It was the kind of hit powerful enough to shake 19,000 people from their seats. Big enough to shift momentum of a period. And strong enough to help the Wild win a hockey game.
Minnesota extended its winning streak to five games on Saturday with a 3-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche. Mikael Granlund, Eric Staal and Jonas Brodin scored goals and Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves.
But that doesn't tell the whole story ... not by a long shot.

But it wasn't a pretty pass or a big penalty kill that shifted the direction of a tie game midway through the third period, although the Wild did successfully kill all six Avalanche power plays. It was a crushing hit by Matt Dumba that turned the tide in a critical win against a Central Division rival.
With the Wild and Avs slugging it out in a 1-1 game, Colorado dumped a puck through the neutral zone. Dumba skated backwards to retrieve it, pressured by the Avs' Alexander Kerfoot.
Just as Kerfoot looked like he was about to take control of the puck, Dumba hit the breaks and blasted the Colorado forward, sending him horizontal and onto his back.

"We were both looking at the puck to start with," Dumba said. "I didn't want to take too many risks and then once I saw him sort of commit to it, I had an opportunity. I had a good pop there."
Dumba has had some bone-jarring hits in his six seasons with the Wild. This one was likely the biggest.
The 19,093 fans inside Xcel Energy Center rose as one, oohing and ahhing all the way to their feet, then again as replays showed the hit on the jumbo scoreboard hanging over center ice.
With the building still stirring, the Wild went down the ice with the puck and buzzed the Colorado net for the next 30 seconds.
As Colorado finally got a clear, Jason Zucker put a solid lick on Marko Dano. In response, Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov shoved the end of his stick just under Zucker's chin near the Wild bench, earning himself two minutes in the penalty box for high sticking.

Staal scored the game-winning goal 1:12 into the ensuing power play to give the Wild a 2-1 lead.
It was a stretch of two minutes in a 60-minute contest. But it was a defining two minutes started by Dumba's physical play.
"Everybody can see that, how the atmosphere and the emotions come up," said Wild forward Mikael Granlund. "Those are big plays and they get the whole crowd into it. It was great to see those kind of hits."
Minnesota is a better team when the crowd is engaged in the game. That's the opinion of head coach Bruce Boudreau, who stood behind the Wild bench at Xcel Energy Center for the 93rd time on Saturday night.
"When the life in the building gets going then we get going," Boudreau said. "We are usually pretty quiet in the first period and we played pretty quiet in the first period. I've been here three years and when the energy is in the building and it's loud, it affects the players big time. We want to keep that up."
Dumba's physical nature has started to trickle back into his game this season. When he was drafted seventh overall by the Wild in the 2012 NHL Draft, his highlight film was chock full of hits similar to the one he had on Saturday night.
Those hits have been few and far between in the NHL. With the exception of a big one on Patrick Kane a few years back, Dumba has picked his spots much more carefully.
This season has been different. His play Saturday was perhaps his third or fourth highlight-reel hit in Minnesota's first 10 games.
"When I was younger and in juniors, I hit a lot," Dumba said. "Now, it's starting to come back a little in my game. The first couple years, you don't want to take those risks playing against men and stronger guys. I think I've just started to maybe grow into my man strength a little, and that's helped."
A 50-point defenseman for the first time last season, the Wild believes he could be just scratching the surface of his offensive ability from the blueline.
Doubling down on his physicality has the potential to give opponents one more thing to ponder when approaching the Wild goal.
"When he plays with a little bit of an edge and on that line, I think he becomes a better player and definitely creates some energy in the building and I thought we got a little - we were engaged all night - but it adds a little bit more animosity," Staal said. "I think this game's gotten so fast. Sometimes if you don't have that quickness you can get caught out of position and then caught in the wrong time to finish your check. Dumbs is smart, and he knows when to finish and when to make the right read. It was a good hit there."
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