Secret's in the sauce: Stalock showcases offensive skills on OT winner

ST. PAUL -- When the NHL instituted 3-on-3 overtime prior to the 2015-16 season, it had its fans in mind.
But it also may have had Alex Stalock in mind as well.
The diminutive, offensive-minded netminder was more than just the Wild's final line of defense on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was a contributor on the offensive end as well.

The Wild's two best scoring rushes in overtime came as the result of Stalock-led breakouts, including Mikael Granlund's game-winning goal 3:43 into the extra session in a crazy 5-4 win at Xcel Energy Center.
"He handles [the puck] better than most of our forwards, including myself," said Wild forward Jason Zucker. "It's unreal watching him. It's good out there."
The assist was the second of his NHL career and made him the first goaltender in franchise history to record a helper on a game-deciding goal in overtime.

Stalock, who began his hockey playing career in South St. Paul as a forward before transitioning to the crease, has always had an aggressive, puck-playing style. Even in his days at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Stalock would often leave his crease to chase down a puck and set up his teammates going the other way.
That was certainly the case in overtime on Saturday.
Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman sent a lengthy pass in the direction of Nikita Kucherov through the neutral zone, one that was just past the winger's reach. With Ryan Suter retreating, most goaltenders would have been happy with an icing call and an offensive zone faceoff.
Instead, Stalock left his crease to play the puck, settling it with Kucherov applying immediate pressure. Stalock flipped the puck off the right-wing glass to Charlie Coyle at the nearside blueline.
Because Tampa Bay's other skater had gone to the bench, the Wild suddenly had a 2-on-1 the other way.
"It's 3-on-3 and if we can get an odd man rush we have to do it I think because we're creating an odd man chance versus getting a faceoff in their zone," Stalock said. "I'd take an odd-man rush over an offensive zone faceoff any day and that's what we had."

Coyle and Mikael Granlund entered the offensive zone, where the former left a drop pass and went towards the front of the net. Coyle zoomed between Hedman and Granlund, creating just enough space for Granlund to whip a shot past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for the winner.
Stalock made a beeline toward the pile of players at the other end of the rink before he was swarmed by a pile of teammates coming off the bench to greet him.
"That was a good sauce, about 20 feet in the air," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "We know he can handle the puck. He's a smart guy, so he sees what's going on out there. I bow to his thought process."
But it's not just Stalock's offensive prowess that makes him such a unique player at the position. He's a true throwback to an era before goaltenders stood 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, like his creasemate Devan Dubnyk. There aren't many 6-foot, 198-pound netminders remaining in pro hockey.

He also plays with wreckless abandon.
In addition to setting up offensive chances, Stalock was at the hashes challenging Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos just a few minutes prior. Late in the second period, Stalock gloved down a garden variety shot, and instead of holding for a faceoff, skated with the puck in his glove into the right circle before dropping it on the ice and aiming to get something started the other way.
There's never a dull moment when he's on the ice.
"Something I take pride in is handling the puck," Stalock said. "I think it's a huge benefit and our guys saw tonight why it can be a benefit in 3-on-3.
"I wish I was 6-6. Maybe I'd play the same way. I don't know. I've had to learn how to use my size. It's just like a player. Granny he's had to learn how to make space for himself. He's not the biggest guy. … It's something that works for me and hopefully it keeps going."
His confidence also feeds his teammates, who drew from that juice Saturday playing the second of back-to-back games for the second time in the past six days.
It's almost like he has no fear on the ice.

"No he doesn't, he doesn't. And when he does something