Watch: Marc-Andre Fleury gets historic win and makes one of the plays of the year
Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 551st career win on Saturday night in a 4-3 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, moving him into a tie with Patrick Roy for the second most wins in NHL history. He also made one of the best plays of the NHL season to help get it.
With the Wild trailing, 3-2, in the closing minutes, Minnesota was in the process of pulling Fleury for an extra attacker in an effort to tie the game.
As Fleury was leaving the ice, however, Columbus regained possession of the puck and was going for the empty net. That was when Fleury sprinted back across the ice, dove in front of the net, and helped keep the puck up. Minnesota promptly went down the ice and scored to tie the game.
Have a look.
Minnesota's Marco Rossi scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
Fleury will most likely have a chance to pass Roy on Monday night at home against the Dallas Stars.
Given the accomplishments in his career Fleury is almost certainly destined for the Hockey Hall of Fame when his career ends. He is not only one of the most beloved players of the modern era, he has also put together one of the most impressive resumes in league history for a goalie.
It has been a fascinating career because at no point was he ever really considered the best goalie in hockey for any extended stretch of time. But he has been a part of three Stanley Cup winning teams, has played in five Stanley Cup Finals (including leading the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season), has won a Vezina Trophy and is now in a tie for the second most wins in league history.
Martin Brodeur is the NHL's all-time wins leader at 691 career wins. Given Fleury's age (39 years old) there is almost no chance that he will catch that number. Even without that he has still put together a Hall of Fame career.
It is now just a matter of how many more wins he gets and how long he has to wait for his induction when he officially retires from the league.
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