‘Flower’ in full bloom as Wild blank Canadiens

Sorel-Tracy, a shipbuilding town of about 35,000 on the St. Lawrence River, an hour or so north of Montreal, was about 100 residents lighter on Thursday night. A literal busload of folks from Marc-Andre Fleury’s hometown made the trek to the big city to see their puck-stopping hero go to work in his home province for what was almost certainly the last time.

The Minnesota Wild goalie known as “Flower” was greeted at the Bell Center with cheers and dozens of signs, in French and English, welcoming him back to Quebec for one more go. And by way of saying ‘merci’ for their support, the 40-year-old gave the locals quite a show, stopping 19 shots for his first shutout of the season in the Wild’s 4-0 win over the Canadiens in Montreal. ADVERTISEMENT Minnesota got goals from Liam Ohgren, Marco Rossi, Devin Shore and finished it with Freddie Gaudreau hitting an empty net as the Wild swept their season series with the Canadiens, not allowing a goal in the process.



“It was nice to see the team battle so hard in front of ‘Flower.’ He came up with some big saves,” Wild coach John Hynes said to the reporters in Montreal. “As usual, the bigger the stage, the more emotional the stage, it seems like the better he gets.

” Fleury settled into things during a scoreless first period in which the Wild allowed only three shots to get through the veteran. In the opposite crease, Montreal rookie Jakub Dobes — the physically imposing former Ohio State standout — turned aside eight Minnesota shots, as the Wild had the period’s only power play. The crisp pace of the middle period suited the visitors just fine, as Ohgren opened the scoring with his first of the season after a feed from Gaudreau, another French Canadian playing close to home.

It was the ninth consecutive road game in which the Wild have scored first. Barely two minutes later, Wild defenseman Jon Merrill fell to the ice after blocking a shot, and in the chaos that ensued, Rossi got behind the Canadiens’ defense undetected by everyone except Marcus Foligno, whose set-up pass sent Rossi in alone on the Montreal net. There, Rossi found a tiny gap between Dobes’ blocker and his right leg pad.

Fleury, who was making his 48th career start versus Montreal, gave the fans a show as well, sprawling out to thwart one home team rush to the net, and thanking his goalposts after another Canadiens’ scoring opportunity struck iron. Early in the third, in a play that perfectly encapsulates the Wild’s play on the road, Fleury made another acrobatic pad save, keying a rush the other way, which ended when Shore poked the puck away from a Canadiens’ defender, then ripped a shot past Dobes for a three-goal lead. It was Shore’s first goal in a Wild uniform.

ADVERTISEMENT From there, it was all about Fleury, who appeared to be fighting back tears during a pause late in the game which featured a tribute to his career on the video board and a lengthy standing ovation from the fans in attendance. As the final seconds ticked away and his 76th career shutout became official, the crowd stood and chanted Fleury’s name one last time. “I know the end of the game meant a lot to him and he said in the locker room after the game that he appreciated how the guys played,” Hynes said.

“He really appreciates all the fans’ support.” Every Canadiens player lined up at center ice following the final horn and shook Fleury’s hand before he left the ice. In a TV interview after the game, Fleury admitted fighting some strong emotions during the in-game tribute, and joked that it might have been strategic on the part of the folks in Montreal, to try and rattle him before the contest had been decided.

“I had some watery eyes at some points. I tried to shake it off and when the puck dropped, be ready for it,” Fleury said in a postgame interview on FanDuel Sports Network North. “Obviously, a lot of emotion.

It was a big day for me having so much family and friends at the game, and the fans in Montreal and all around Quebec that made it to the game.” He came back out one more time after Fleury was named first star of the night, waving a thank you to the fans, and giving his stick to a child in the front row. Per the NHL, Fleury is the first player in league history to record a shutout as a teenager and past age 40.

Dobes finished with 23 saves for Montreal, suffering his first NHL loss after starting his career 5-0-1. For the Wild, it was their ninth consecutive win versus Montreal. Minnesota improved to a NHL-best 20-5-3 on the road with the victory.

The 20 road wins in 28 games is a new franchise best. The previous record came in 2016-17, when the Wild got their 20th road win in their 33rd road game. ADVERTISEMENT The Wild complete their tour of eastern Canada on Saturday with a 6 p.

m. CT start versus the Senators in Ottawa. The Senators won their first of two meetings this season by a 3-1 score on Dec.

29 in St. Paul. ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies.

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