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Dubnyk expects to be on upcoming Wild road trip

ST. PAUL — It’s been a long, difficult month for Devan Dubnyk and the rest of his family as they have tried to gain clarity on some unresolved medical issues surrounding his wife Jenn.

He opened up about the situation during a talk with reporters on Thanksgiving Day, saying he wouldn’t be traveling with the Wild until the family had more answers.

“I don’t know how much I want to say details-wise,” he said at the time. “It’s just something that I need to be here for, and I need to be with her and the kids.”

He hasn’t traveled with the Wild since then, staying home to be with his family. But Dubnyk said Friday, Dec. 13, he expects to make the team’s upcoming road trip. He respectfully declined to provide more details about the situation, though the fact that he is able to travel gives an indication that things are improving for his wife.

“This is kind of what we’ve been looking at over the last couple of weeks,” Dubnyk said. “It’s here and we’ve got everything lined up at home, so I’m looking forward to getting back with the guys.”

As for when Dubnyk could actually play in a game, a lot of that depends on conversations he has with the coaching staff, particularly longtime goaltending coach Bob Mason.

“The only way I’m ever going to get back comfortable (on the ice) is playing a game,” Dubnyk said. “Just get a couple of practices in and jump in there. Usually it only takes a few minutes into the game before it all comes back.”

It helps that Dubnyk hasn’t actually been away from the game. He has taken live shots from rehabbing winger Mason Shaw when the Wild have been on the road, and that has allowed him to stay relatively sharp between the pipes.

“It’s not an overly exciting practice with one goaltender and one shooter,” Dubnyk said with a laugh. “But he worked hard and gave me as much as he could to make sure I didn’t need a walker when I got back out there when the guys were back.

“It’s definitely different (than an injury) when something might still be bothering me and I’m trying to work around it. That’s certainly not the case here.”

It helps that the Wild boast an 8-1-3 record in Dubnyk’s absence with both Alex Stalock and Kaapo Kahkonen playing well in the crease.

That has taken a lot of pressure off Dubnyk because he hasn’t felt like he has to rush back to save the day.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “If the walls were crumbling down, maybe all of a sudden I’m looking to come back and play a game here and a game there, ducking in and ducking out. That would certainly add more pressure to a difficult situation. To be able to watch these guys play as well as they have has let met kind of forget about it and get everything in order here.”

As much as this situation has put his life in perspective, Dubnyk made it clear that he has missed being around the team.

“Obviously with everything that’s been going on here, it was a little bit easier not to think about that,” Dubnyk said. “It’s definitely something I’ve missed, though, so I’m looking forward to being back.”

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