Marc-Andre Fleury is set to play in his 1,000th career game today against the Winnipeg Jets. A feat only three other NHL goaltenders have ever acomplished.
ST. PAUL - The ultimate prankster and one of the greatest goalies of all time is now set to play in his 1,000th career NHL game, a feat only three other goaltenders have ever accomplished.
“It’s huge. I think to play in the NHL is an absolute privilege and it’s a feat in itself," Zach Bogosian said on Marc-Andre Fleury. "But to play obviously 1,000 games and then to add on being a goaltender, that’s as impressive of a resume as probably I’ve seen."
Fleury, 39, was expected to play in his 1,000th game on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning but with Filip Gustavsson leaving yesterday's game after playing only two periods, Fleury had to come in and play the whole third period and now start today's game.
Fleury has always been known for his fun pranks he plays on teammates and former teammates. Wild forward, Brandon Duhaime called Fleury 50 years old after a win in Boston a week ago.
The next game, Duhaime walked out of the Xcel Energy Center without a shirt and in a new furry coat.
But Fleury didn't stop there. In the last home game against the Detroit Red Wings, the veteran goaltender stole Duhaime's shoes and replaced them with big white fluffy boots and made him walk out of the arena with them on.
Like many teams, the Wild participated in Secret Santa which is a Christmas game where everyone gets assigned a person you give a gift to for Christmas but the person receiving the gift does not know who gave it to you.
On Friday, Fleury had to play with his Christmas gift on the ice which was a pink flowery cane. We don't know if Duhaime was the one who gifted Fleury the cane, Duhaime did not fess up when asked, but one can assume it was Duhaime as the prank war continues.
Before Saturday's practice, Duhaime found a water cup filled to the brim under his helmet. The prankster placed the cup under Duhaime's helmet so when he grabbed it to put it on the cup would fall and spill water all over him.
But Duhaime did not fall for it and actually "enjoyed it" as he had a nice glass of water before practice.
“That’s just who he is. I think that’s why he’s so successful, he’s got the resume he does. If he had a bad attitude or something like that, I think it wouldn’t be the same," Wild assistant captain Marcus Foligno said on Fleury after the 3-2 win over Boston. "He brings so much joy to the locker room, so much energy and positivity, and obviously great goaltending. It’s unbelievable. We’re lucky to have him. Him and Gus, the way they’ve been playing, it’s been the reason we’re winning."
With pranks aside for one game, Fleury is set to play in his 1,000th NHL game which is a feat only three other goaltenders have done. Fleury is also one win away from tying Patrick Roy for second all-time for most wins as a goalie with 551.
"That's impressive in itself," Wild head coach John Hynes said on Fleury becoming the fourth goalie to play 1,000 games. "He's such a great person, great player and he's ready for it. Flower has played really well for us. But that's another thing, to have Gus go down for how long, we don't know. But to have a guy like flower to be able to step up and play is certinally gives you confidence as a coach and a team. It's nice he has the opportunity to do this at home and he is a guy that is ready to step up in that role. We were are going to win games, he's ready for it. He practices hard, he works hard so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do here."
Everyone on this team loves Fleury and there is no doubt about that. He is near the end of his career which will put him in the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest goalies to ever play.
Every player on this team wants to play hard for Fleury and be a part of history when it happens. Kirill Kaprizov scored the overtime winning goal against Boston at home and instead of the whole team celebrating with Kaprizov they all went to Fleury who notched his 550th career win that game.
“Kirill scores in overtime, and we all go to Flower,” Foligno said after the game against Boston. “It’s just one of those things where you know what’s on the line. We want to be part of milestones, and I know he got a large chunk of his wins with other teams, but you know what? It’s about now and the present and we want to celebrate and make sure he’s passing Patty Roy pretty soon.”
But Fleury has accepted the backup role this season with Gustavsson being on fire recently. As of now, Gustavsson's injury status is a bit unclear which will open the door for Fleury to start more games. But Fleury admits that he just wants the team to win and play smart rather than achieve his own milestones.
"I think bottom line, I just want my team to win. Gus has been playing great for, I don’t know, the past month and a half. We’ve been winning, right, so that’s good," Fleury said. "I just try to work hard in practice, work hard with Freddy (Chabot) our goalie coach, and at some point I’m gonna play so I wanna be ready for those games. To beat Boston back-to-back is a nice feeling."
Today the Wild decorated the entrance to the locker room with flowers and gave Fleury a bouquet of flowers upon his entrance as a nice gesture for his 1,000th NHL game.
Fleury winning games, playing in his 1,000th game, and the team winning has made this team more fun. More fun to watch and more fun for the players. They are laughing again and playing with excitment. They have now climbed up in the standings as well and are 11-4-0 in their last 15 games.
“You always talk about youth hockey when people are growing up, the game is to be fun,” Hynes said after Friday's practice. “But when you get to this level, winning is our business but hockey is the game that you love. I think when you can combine the two it’s important. It is. It’s a long season. There’s different pressures on guys. They’re grown men. They got families. They got contracts. It is their livelihood but to try to have some fun and enjoy it, the grind of the season, is really important. Winning certainly helps that, but I think the personality of the group, as I said before, it is a close group in general. There’s not a lot of cliques, and I think the combination of those two, the winning and I think the group of players that we have, that’s allowed it to get a little bit more fun, more smiles and guys enjoying being at the rink.”