Once again, Marc-André Fleury is climbing the ladder of one NHL record, while simultaneously setting another. In last night's Wild 1-0 win over the Seattle Kraken, the very soon to be 38 year old net minder made his way to sole possession of Number 12 on the list of NHL shutouts with 72. He'd been tied with Harry Lumley and Lorne Chabot, and has 4 more to go to reach Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito, both tied at 76. Fourteen years with the Penguins gave him 44 shutouts, he had 23 in Vegas, 4 in Chicago, and this was his first as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
The fact that this game was in Seattle gave the Flower a tie for second place for most career road wins of regular season and playoffs combined, at 266, along with one of his idols, Patrick Roy. Another legend, Marty Brodeur, is still sitting pretty at number one with 360.
With his 28 saves, Fleury has also become the first goalie in NHL history to shut out 28 teams. Granted, there weren't as many teams in the league when those he surpassed were playing, but when Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur, and Tomas Vokoun all have 27, and you get 28, it's still a pretty neat feeling.
According to the NHL game recap, Fleury said, «I didn't know [about the record], I think it just means I'm old, maybe. I've played for a while, I don't know, it's nice» - a statement just adding to the proof that he remains ever humble, and always appreciative of the game itself, and his teammates.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Fleury will get shutouts against all 32 teams, as one of the 4 he's missing is his own team. The other 3 are Columbus, St. Louis, and Vegas. And there's plenty of time for them. After all, when the opposing team's radio announcers comment that you look like you're in «Vezina form», you know you're having a good night. And in pure Fleury fashion, he'll just keep getting better.
