Canadian Olympic gold medalist Marc-Andrew Fleury of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec recorded his 73rd National Hockey League career shutout on Thursday. Fleury made 30 saves as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 2-0. Fleury won a gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Fleury made 14 saves in the first period, nine saves in the second period, and seven saves in the third period. Boone Jenner of Dorchester, Ontario led the Blue Jackets with six shots on goal. Offensively, the Wild got first period goals from Brandon Duhaime and Kirill Kaprizov. For Duhame, it was his sixth goal of the season, and for Kaprizov it was his 34th goal of the season. Kaprizov is ninth in the NHL in goal scoring. Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid of Richmond Hill, Ontario leads the NHL with 46 goals.
This season Fleury has a record of 17 wins, 13 regulation losses, and three losses in extra time. He has two shutouts, a goals against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .904. Fleury’s other shutout this season came on November 11, 2022 in a 1-0 Wild win over the Seattle Kraken, in a game where Fleury made 28 saves.
Of Fleury’s 73 career shutouts, 44 have been with the Pittsburgh Penguins, 23 have been with the Vegas Golden Knights, four have been with the Chicago Blackhawks, and two with the Wild. With the win, the Wild move into third place in the Central Division with 69 points.
