For a good chunk of this season, the GEEK Squad has served as the predominant checking line for the Wild.
With Joel Eriksson Ek in the middle, and Jordan Greenway and Luke Kunin on the outside, the GEEK Squad consistently found ways to make life miserable on opposing players.
And one of the biggest things that has helped the Wild rise from the ashes this season is that fact that coach Bruce Boudreau can tinker with his checking line without much of a drop-off.
That was on display over the weekend as Marcus Foligno slid in alongside Eriksson Ek and opposite Kunin — and the checking line didn’t miss a beat.
“There are a lot of similarities (with Foligno and Greenway),” Kunin said. “They’re both big bodies, and always work so hard and do the right things. It’s pretty easy to play with guys like that. Just trying to do whatever we can to help the team be successful.”
That usually means shutting down the best players on the other team, though in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, both Foligno and Kunin scored goals.
Asked how he slid so seamlessly into the checking line, Foligno credited Eriksson Ek with be strong in the middle and Kunin for being a threat to score from anywhere on the ice.
“We like playing with each other,” Foligno said. “I thought we played really well.”
So well that, in fact, that Boudreau opted to keep the trio together for Sunday’s game against the Calgary Flames.
While it wouldn’t shock anyone if the GEEK Squad was reunited at some point, it’s pretty hard to mess with a good thing right now.
DUBNYK HONORED
A couple of months ago, Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk reached the 500-game career milestone, which for a goaltender, is akin to to a skater playing in 1,000 games.
He was honored with a video tribute before Sunday’s game, soaking in the moment alongside his wife Jenn and the couple’s three children.
It’s quite the accomplishment for Dubnyk, especially considering he was nearly out of the NHL before arriving in the Twin Cities midway through the 2014-15 campaign.
To say Dubnyk has completely revitalized his career since then would be putting it lightly. He has played in 319 games with the Wild, producing a 173-108-28 record, 2.38 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.
STALOCK STARTS
With the Wild playing on the second half of a back-to-back, goaltender Alex Stalock got the nod between the pipes.
It was Stalock’s first start since giving up six goals a couple of weeks ago in a blowout loss to the Jets.
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January 05, 2020 at 04:51PM
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Wild’s checking line is GEEKed up and playing well - St. Paul Pioneer Press
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