Wild's Marc-Andre Fleury gets hometown hero treatment -- and a shutout -- in Montreal

Sarah McLellan, Star Tribune on Jan 30, 2025

Published in Hockey

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MONTREAL — Marc-Andre Fleury kept preparing for a puck, raising his glove and lifting his stick, but it was all in vain.

The Wild were blocking shots left and right, sweeping pressure away before it reached their crease. When the Canadiens finally had an opening, their windup crashed wide into the boards or they pulled themselves off-side.

So, Fleury folded himself back under the crossbar over and over again, looking very much like the kid on the playground waiting to get picked. Nobody would play ball, forcing the guest of honor to arrive late to his own celebration.

But in time, Fleury put on a show the crowd of split loyalty could salute him for.

In what was likely the Quebec native’s last game at Bell Centre during the goaltender’s farewell season, Fleury shut out Montreal, 4-0, in front of family and friends for an emotional sendoff that culminated with a handshake line from the Canadiens and curtain call as the game’s first star.

Fleury made 20 saves during his 572nd win, which included goals from rookie Liam Ohgren, Marco Rossi, Devin Shore and Frederick Gaudreau — the Wild showing no lack of focus after a 3-1 win at Toronto the previous night ahead of Fleury’s homecoming, which his wife, Veronique, their three children, Estelle, Scarlett and James, his mom, France, and sister Marylene attended.

The Wild defended meticulously from the start, with Fleury not facing his first shot until six minutes had elapsed, the save appropriately getting announced with a loud thud when the Canadiens’ Lane Hutson sent the puck into Fleury’s pad.

When they had the puck, the Wild were getting up ice with speed and support, and their cohesiveness was rewarded 3:41 into the second period when a determined Ohgren scooped up his own rebound and wired the puck over Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes after Dobes had lost his stick during Ohgren’s earlier chance.

This was Ohgren’s first goal of the season in his seventh game with the Wild since the team promoted him from the minors after Marcus Johansson suffered a concussion vs. Edmonton.

Aside from giving Fleury a mostly quiet night — he had a mere eight stops after two periods — the stingy defending by the Wild also led to offense: After Jon Merrill was stung by a Josh Anderson shot, the Wild scooped up the puck and went the other way with Marcus Foligno setting up a wide-open Rossi for a blocker-side shot that Rossi buried at 5:47 of the second.

Then after his most Fleury-like save, Fleury stretching out windmill style in the third to deny Anderson after previously poke-checking him a period earlier, Shore won a 50-50 puck before draining his first goal with the Wild at 5:56.

Later on the Canadiens’ first and only power play, Fleury backed up the stop with a series of a pad saves for his busiest sequence. The Wild also went 0 for 1.

Gaudreau added an empty-netter with 1:27 to go.

Dobes, who was on a career-opening six-game point streak (5-0-1), had 23 saves in his first regulation loss.

But this matchup was more about longevity and legacy.

Fleury, who will retire after the season, is now just one appearance away from tying Roberto Luongo for second all-time in games (1,043), and after three more starts he’ll match Luongo for second in that category, too, at 1,014, looming milestones that’ll join the others: The 40-year-old is already the second-winningest goaltender in NHL history with the second-most time on ice and most shootout victories (66) during a Hall of Fame career that also includes three Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh and a Vezina Trophy with Vegas as the league’s top goalie after getting drafted first overall in 2003. His first shutout of the season and 76th overall moved him into a tie for 10th with Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito; Luongo is ninth with 77. Fleury improved to 11-5-1 on the season.

Despite the dud from Montreal, the fans were still cheering, giving Fleury a standing ovation and chanting his name late in the third period as a bouquet of flowers hit the ice while players from both teams also acknowledged him to delay the ensuing puck drop. Before and after the final horn sounded, the Fleury chants resumed.

He finished 28-13-8 in his career vs. the Canadiens and 13-6-5 in Montreal.