Our Flower's Found A Place to Bloom(Video)

Last week, brand new Minnesota goaltender Marc-André Fleury debuted some sparkly new pads at practice. Sunday, in the Wild's game against the Kings, he showed off his new mask. Tuesday, he had on the full kit, though he didn't start. Last night, we were able to see him and all his gear in action.

While shiny and sparkly, just like Fleury's personality, the lid wasn't doing much in the way of luck at Sunday's game, as 3 pucks slipped by him on the first 5 shots. One was a Power Play, one was shorthanded, and one you could just see he wanted back, emphasized by him smashing the goal post with his stick. Luckily, his team rallied around him, and got 2 consecutive goals, getting the Wild within one to end the 1st period. And that was all he needed.
For the remainder of the game, Fleury did all his usual Fleury things and stopped the other 29 shots that came his way, including 16 in the second period, alone, for a total of 31/34 saves. His teammates kept on doing their part, and the Wild came away with a 6-3 win.




Now, imagine if that first period had happened with the Blackhawks. Well, you don't really have to imagine, because it has. As much as the team would have wanted to rally, and make a comeback for him, they just couldn't do it. We know Chicago loves Fleury. The same as Vegas and Pittsburgh and everyone who's ever met him does. But the Pittsburgh management chose wrong (but I still love you, Matt Murray). And the Vegas management is a disgrace, for verbally, in front of thousands of witnesses, promising him that he'd retire there, and then kicking him out over SOCIAL MEDIA, which he's not even on. But I digress.
The point is, Chicago did right by him. Did they want him to stay? Of course. Had they hoped that he'd somehow magically be able to turn the entire team around? Maybe. But he's not a coach. He's inspiring, yes. And he's a leader. And he's the most wonderful person to be around on and off the ice - reported by practically every teammate, coach, and journalist/media personality he's come into contact with. But he's still just one man. And he doesn't have a lot of opportunities to score goals. The team needed to fix themselves to earn his support, and they just couldn't do it. So they let him go, on his terms, which is the best thing they could have done for him.
So now, Chicago fans need to sit back, like Vegas fans, like Pittsburgh fans, and watch their Flower bloom in another city. This team is good. And they are literally in awe of him, every day. Last night, he got his 6th start for the Wild. Not gonna lie, I was mildly concerned that the new gear was going to be cursed, but the Wild pulled off an amazing OT win, with Fleury getting his 20th career assist on a gorgeous pass to Freddy Gaudreau. In the post-game media, he called it a «French sense».

https://www.facebook.com/minnesotawild/videos/4976330125792638

https://www.facebook.com/minnesotawild/videos/1162209657913055

Flower is now 5-1 in his last (first) 6 games, with a SV% of .929. He gets flowers every night, and most importantly, he's on a playoff contending team. If there's anything everyone knows about Marc-André Fleury, it's that he loves the game. He just wants to keep playing, and being a WildFlower lets him do just that.