ST. PAUL, Minn. — The pressure was off the Minnesota Wild after they'd finally secured their place in the playoffs, and Filip Gustavsson had a heart-warming idea as overtime approached.
At Gustavsson's suggestion to coach John Hynes in one last formal tribute to one of the NHL's greatest goalies, the Wild sent the soon-retiring Marc-Andre Fleury out to take Gustavsson's place in the net for the extra period — and watched the 21-year veteran put on quite a show in his final regular season game.
Fleury made five saves in less than five minutes, including a couple of kick-save classics and a determined denial of a 4-on-3 power play by the Anaheim Ducks, to pick up one more win to pad his career total that's the second most in league history at 575.
“Try to have some fun with this. I wasn’t too sharp, right? Just dive around, don't let them shoot, I guess,” Fleury said after Minnesota's 3-2 win on Tuesday made possible by Joel Eriksson Ek's tying goal off his own rebound with 20.9 seconds remaining in regulation. “The guys battled hard too around the net. They helped me out, so it was nice.”
Gustavsson got a career-high 58 starts this season and will almost certainly be the goalie for every game in the playoffs, which will start for the Wild on the road this weekend in a first-round series against Vegas.
The 26-year-old Gustavsson has often expressed admiration of and gratitude for his 40-year-old mentor who essentially became this season the most popular backup goalie in the history of organized hockey. So it was only fitting that Gustavsson surprised Fleury with his offer.
“Little shocked, little shocked, little worried. I’d been sitting there for a few hours,” said Fleury, who also padded his all-time record with his 71st career overtime win. “A good talk from Gus, and obviously Hynes let me go in too. I’m happy I got to go play just a little bit more at home.”
The crowd at Xcel Energy Center had been engulfed in tension after the Ducks took a 2-1 lead midway through the third period, realizing the Wild might have to sweat out the results for St. Louis and Calgary as the three teams entered the night in competition for the two wild-card spots. Then came the triumph of Eriksson Ek's goal and the collective exhale following the club's return to the post-season after missing out last year was secure.
But the roars kept coming from the fans, once Fleury skated into the crease and started fending off shots in his familiar exaggerated fashion. After Matt Boldy scored the winning goal, Fleury was swarmed by his teammates. He went through a solo handshake line with the entire Ducks team, before skating to mid-ice for another stick-tap salute from the Wild.
The hugs, ovations and honours have been steady all season, but this one will undoubtedly stick with Fleury above the rest.
“Some days a little bit more emotional, some days a little bit more fun,” Fleury said. “But I try to not take any day for granted, try to enjoy every day. It goes by so quick, so try to make the most out of it.”
Fleury’s wife and three children were at the game, just like they were last week when he got his final start and — barely — beat the San Jose Sharks 8-7 in overtime.
“I feel lucky to have another chance to play in front of them. Get a win, not give up seven goals, that was nice, too,” Fleury said. “Hopefully they remember that time.”
Still flashing his perpetual smile, Fleury's eyes started to well up toward the end of his interview with reporters inside the Wild locker room as the enormity of the moment hit him.
“It was fun just to go one more time out there,” he said, “and play the game I love.”
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.