In what was possibly his final NHL game in Montreal, Marc-Andre Fleury put on one hell of a show in front of the Canadiens’ home crowd on Tuesday night.
After stopping 27 out of 29 shots, securing a 5-2 win for the Minnesota Wild, the Sorel-Tracy, Quebec native was named the Bell Centre’s first star of the game. Fleury, 38, knowing it may have very well been his last in the arena, skated out to an ovation from Canadiens patrons.
With the Canadiens playing a pretty terrible game overall, the Montreal crowd was not shy to salute Fleury before the final buzzer either.
When the netminder used a windmill save to stop Habs defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic’s early third-period breakaway opportunity, chants of his name could be heard echoing through the arena.
Marc-Andre Fleury makes a spectacular save đŽ pic.twitter.com/znKzvdw080
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 18, 2023
Part of that support undoubtedly came from the large group of friends and family members who came out to cheer the three-time Stanley Cup champ and Vezina Trophy winner on.
Before the game, Fleury told The Athletic’s Michael Russo that his mom gets very nervous coming to games. Same with his sister, but, âI love them here because they care about me doing well.â
âGot to get the win,â he added. âGot to get the two points and thatâs what matters. And hopefully, you can put on a good show for them.â
A whole Flower affair #mnwild pic.twitter.com/uGkf4ORno7
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 18, 2023
Wild teammate Marcus Johansson had his own way of celebrating Fleury’s first win of the year, crashing the goalie’s postgame interview with RDS to smear shaving cream on his face.
Très beau moment Ă RDS pour Marc-AndrĂŠ Fleuryđđ pic.twitter.com/WIeAM2J2Vm
— William Nadeau (@willnadeau29) October 18, 2023
Fleury, who is now 27-13-6 in his career against the Canadiens, is close to approaching another career milestone as well.
With 545 wins in his pocket, he is only seven shy of surpassing the record of Habs legend Patrick Roy. Doing that would move Fleury up to second all-time in the W column.
The first spot belongs to fellow Quebecer Martin Brodeur, who retired with 691 wins back in 2015.
- You might also like:
- Canadiens share brutal news regarding Kirby Dach's injury