Marc-Andre Fleury pushed the Minnesota Wild to a win on Friday night. It was his 1,030th career game which moved him into third on the NHL’s all-time games played list among goaltenders.
“I just feel very fortunate, lucky that I was able to stick around for that long and do what I love for so long,” Fleury told reporters after the game. “I got help obviously, I’ve had people help me stay loose and flexible and all that, staying healthy. I’m very fortunate to still do it.”
Fleury, 39, stopped 29 shots in his 1,000 career NHL game in the Wild’s 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The Wild are now 13-3-3 on the year.
The future Hall-of-Fame goaltender moved past Patrick Roy (1,029 GP) for the third-most games played by a goaltender in NHL history, behind Martin Brodeur (1,266 GP) and Roberto Luongo (1,044 GP).
“I never thought I would make it to the NHL, honestly,” Fleury said. “Patrick and Marty for me are the best goalies that have played the game and obviously, I look up to them.”
Fleury is now 4-0-1 on the year with a 2.76 GAA and a .904 SV%. With the win in Edmonton, Fleury is now the only NHL goaltender with five-plus starts this season to not suffer a regulation loss.
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