The Minnesota Wild clinched their playoff spot on Tuesday with an overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. Now, goalie Filip Gustavsson is receiving well-deserved praise for his incredible gesture toward Marc-Andre Fleury—in the legend’s final regular-season game of his career.
The race for the Wild Card spots in the West has been thrilling, and in the final game of the regular season, the Wild secured their place in the playoffs—but not without some serious drama. After missing out on last year’s postseason, Minnesota found itself trailing 2–1 late in Tuesday’s game, a result that could’ve opened the door for the Calgary Flames to steal the final Wild Card spot.
But with just 20.9 seconds remaining in regulation, Joel Eriksson Ek tied the game. That single point was enough to punch Minnesota’s ticket to the playoffs. With the pressure lifted, the celebration could begin.
Marc-Andre Fleury’s final game
Filip Gustavsson started in net for the Wild, while Marc-Andre Fleury sat on the bench in what was expected to be the final regular-season game of his career, as he plans to retire after the season. But with the postseason spot locked up, Gustavsson approached head coach John Hynes with a suggestion: let the 21-year veteran give fans one last show. And Fleury delivered.
Marc-Andre made five saves in under five minutes—some of them spectacular—and as the Wild sealed the win in overtime, Fleury added one last victory to his legendary résumé: number 575.
“Try to have some fun with this. I wasn’t too sharp, right? Just dive around, don’t let them shoot, I guess,” Fleury said postgame. “The guys battled hard too around the net. They helped me out, so it was nice.”
Marc-Andre Fleury expressed his gratitude toward Gustavsson for the gesture, though he admitted he was “surprised.” According to NHL writer Joe Smith, Fleury teared up at the end of the interview.
“It was fun to go one more time out there. And play the game that I love,” he said.
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