FLOWER’S LAST STAND - Pioneer Press

NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS GAME 1 >> WILD AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS, TBA

FLOWER’S LAST STAND

Fleury’s dramatic 575th and final regular-season victory surprised even him

Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, left, makes a save on a shot by Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier after entering the season finale in overtime Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center. MATT KROHN — ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS

Fleury, left, defenseman Zach Bogosian, middle, and right wing Ryan Hartman celebrate Minnesota’s overtime victory Tuesday night in St. Paul.

Image

By Jess Myers

jmyers@pioneerpress.com

During the final season of a career that will surely be commemorated in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has gotten used to hearing his name called.

In NHL arenas from Vancouver to Montreal and everywhere in between, there have been video tributes and hand-made signs and countless fans chanting his last name, or his nickname, “Flower,” everywhere the Wild have played.

But for Fleury and his coach, the 575th, and final, and perhaps shortest win of his career came as a surprise.

With the Wild needing just one point to secure a spot in the playoffs, it looked like they would have to rely on the kindness of strangers to continue their season past Tax Day. Trailing Anaheim 2-1 with less than 30 seconds left in regulation and starting goalie Filip Gustavsson on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, they got the latest Minnesota Miracle.

Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek jammed a second-chance puck past the Ducks’ goalie with 20.9 seconds on the clock, and when those digits ticked away, Minnesota was officially playoff-bound.

Amid the delirium in that short gap between the final horn of regulation and the start of overtime, Gustavsson presented head coach John Hynes with an idea.

“He came to me and just said, ‘We get in, do you think we could put Flower in?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, great idea,’ ” Hynes said. “This was all after, in between the overtime and the third period.”

With the crowd already roaring from the dramatic end to regulation, Fleury put on his mask and headed for the home crease, to even more thunderous applause. And almost immediately, the Wild took a penalty, meaning two minutes of 4-on-3 advantage for the Ducks, and one last classic look at Fleury’s acrobatic style of playing the position.

Anaheim threw five shots his way, all of which he turned aside via his normal series of flips and flops and stacking of the leg pads. A sixth shot clanked the post next to Fleury, and with the play still live, the goalie took his stick out of his blocker hand long enough to give the post a thank-you pat down. The audience ate all of it up.

“I think even for Gus to do that, and the way the guys battled, and you could see the fans and just what he means to the team, I think the group that we have, that shows as well,” Hynes said. “He sits the whole game and goes out there and makes two or three kick saves. He gets into the game, and he’s basically got a 4-on-3 against him and finds a way to win it.”

With the teams back to 3-on-3 after the penalty expired, Matt Boldy’s goal sent the Wild to the postseason as winners. And just like the Washington Capitals had done a few weeks earlier, all of the Ducks lined up to shake Fleury’s hand one more time before his legendary career ends. Fleury was all smiles, as usual, after the game, even maintaining a happy face as his voice caught with emotion, describing the moment.

“It was fun. It was fun just to go one more time out there and play the game I love. That was cool,” he said, admitting that this final season, in which he made 26 appearances and won 14 games, has been a good time. “Some days a little bit more emotional, some days a little bit more fun. 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.”

For NHL record-keeping purposes, Fleury needed 4:42 of work for the final win — second-most in NHL history — and the league record 71st overtime win of his career. And Mason McTavish of the Ducks will go down in history as firing the final regular-season puck that Fleury saved.

Round one of the playoffs will take the Wild back to Vegas, where Fleury led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018, their inaugural season, and where in 2021 he beat Minnesota in a seven-game playoff series. When the Wild played there in January, there were signs and a video tribute and a media scrum and, again, countless fans offering their thanks and praise to this universally beloved puck-stopper.

So whether or not he gets into a game during the playoffs, Marc-Andre Fleury certainly hasn’t heard his name called for the final time.