Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury picked up the 565th victory of his Hall of Fame career on Thursday night in what was his 1,000th start as he and his teammates triumphed over the Edmonton Oilers by a 5-3 final.
However, Edmonton’s first goal of the game will definitely be going on gag reels everywhere. In nothing short of a bizarre sequence, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl scored from behind his blue line as his soft dump-in deflected off the boards, through the skates of Minnesota’s Vasily Podkolzin, and Fleury’s five-hole.
Replays show that the moment Fleury went to swat the puck away into the corner, it took a ghastly bounce that proved just enough for Fleury to get the angle wrong and completely misplay it.
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Fleury was clearly embarrassed by the gaffe, but got his game in order and ended up making 31 saves in the victory.
Multiple Stanley Cup-winning goaltenders in NHL history have embarrassing moments they can now laugh about, including Patrick Roy’s “Statue of Liberty” moment in the 2002 postseason, Martin Brodeur’s stick-drop gaffe in the 2003 Stanley Cup Final, and the two shots from center ice that got past Chris Osgood in the 1998 postseason.
There’s just no getting around it – mistakes happen sometimes, even on the biggest stage. For Fleury, it’s something that he’ll be trading his trademark flashy smile when asked about it, especially after the night ended with a win.
Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury intends to retire after this season ends
Fleury was the first overall selection in the 2003 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, with whom he spent the first 13 seasons of his career which included backstopping them to the 2009 Stanley Cup, and aiding in the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup victories as well.
He then joined the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, and helped them to the 2018 Cup Final in their inaugural season. He also briefly played for the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to the Wild in 2022.
Fleury owns a career record of 565-330-95 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage with 75 shutouts.
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