May 2, 2022; St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota goalkeeper Wild Mark Andre Fleury (29) makes a save against the St. Louis Blues in the first period of Game One of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota Wild obviously doesn’t blame Marc-Andre Fleury for losing Game 1 to the Blues, as the future Hall of Famer will return between the pipes at Game 2 Wednesday night.
The St. Louis Blues have the Minnesota Wild number going back for some time now, and that didn’t change in Game 1 of Monday night’s playoff series in a 4-0 win on the ice at the Minnesota home. Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t his best, but playing in front of him wasn’t always great and the Blues scored twice in the power game.
Wednesday morning, Wilde coach Dean Evason appeared 100.3 KFAN with Paul Allen. He was openly asked who would start in goal in Game 2 on Wednesday night, and he confirmed without hesitation that it would be Florey between the pipes.
Wild acquired Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks on March 21, and went 9-2 in an 11th regular season starter for Minnesota. His acquisition also coincided with Cam Talbot playing better again, as is 12-0-3 in his last 15 games With .920 saving percentage and two shutter. Invitations to Talbot to start Game 1 will almost certainly be followed by calls he must initiate in Game 2 after losing the series opening.
Apparently Minnesota had Marc-Andre Fleury in the playoffs
Look no further than the deal details to find out why Wild was traded for Fleury. a Conditional selection from the second round Returning to the Black Hawks would become the first player if Minnesota reached the Western Conference Final, and Florey won four games in the first two rounds. He was earned in the playoffs, starting 11 regular seasons as a warm-up to keep him sharp. Three Stanley Cups as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and another Stanley Cup final with the Vegas Golden Knights, are the pebbles on the wall of the Fleury Hall of Fame.
The rebound was a problem for Fleury in the first game, and Evason clearly indicated the need to play better against him to clean up those key opportunities for the Blues. It really is a must win for the Wilds on Wednesday night, lest they face a 0-2 hole in St. Louis. They’ll be putting their fortunes on the goalkeeper they’ve got for this time of year, right or wrong and as expected.
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