Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to become the fourth goaltender in NHL history to play 1,000 games when the Wild face the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minn.
The game is part of a home-and-home series between the Central Division rivals. Winnipeg earned a 4-2 victory at home over Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.
Fleury, 39, appeared in his 999th game when he came on to replace Filip Gustavsson for the third period at Winnipeg. He earned a loud ovation from the opposing crowd, which recognized that he was on the cusp of making history.
“It’s pretty cool, cool to get there,” Fleury said. “But it’ll be nice to be done with it.”
Fleury will join Martin Brodeur (1,266 games), Roberto Luongo (1,044) and Patrick Roy (1,029) as the only goaltenders to reach the milestone. Only four others surpassed 900 games: Terry Sawchuk (971), Ed Belfour (963), Curtis Joseph (943) and Glenn Hall (906).
The Wild netminder also has another statistical achievement within reach. He is one victory from tying Roy for second place in NHL history with 551. Brodeur is the all-time leader with 691 victories.
It will not be easy for Fleury against Winnipeg, which is riding a seven-game point streak. The Jets have gone 5-0-2 and have outscored opponents 28-14 during that span.
Nino Niederreiter will try to stay hot after scoring two goals on Saturday against Minnesota. The veteran forward has 12 goals and 10 assists this season.
Winnipeg’s Alex Iafallo and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby also scored in the first game of the weekend series. Dominic Toninato initiated Jonsson-Fjallby’s goal-scoring play, the game’s final tally, with a pinpoint pass.
“It’s always nice to contribute,” Toninato said. “The timing of that made it extra special. It was good, it was a big goal.”
Gustavsson started in net for Minnesota but left because of a lower-body injury, having saved 19 of the 22 shots he faced. Fleury replaced him and stopped nine of 10 shots.
With Gustavsson likely sidelined, the Wild are expected to promote Zane McIntyre from AHL Iowa to serve as Fleury’s backup on Sunday. McIntyre has appeared in eight NHL games, all during the 2016-17 season with the Boston Bruins, when he went 0-4-1 with a 3.97 goals-against average and an .858 save percentage.
Connor Hellebuyck started in net for Winnipeg on Saturday and turned aside 34 of 36 shots to collect the win. The Jets could go back to Hellebuyck for a second day in a row or give a start to backup Laurent Brossoit, who is 4-3-1 with a 2.50 GAA and a .911 save percentage this season.
The Wild also could be without top scorer Kirill Kaprizov, who was injured Saturday when he was cross-checked in the back by Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon in the third period. After the play, Wild defenseman Jake Middleton fought Dillon.
Kaprizov, who posted an assist before he was injured, has 13 goals and 21 assists in 34 games.
If Kaprizov cannot play Sunday, teammates such as Matt Boldy will be asked to help fill the void. Boldy scored on Saturday against Winnipeg and has 12 points (nine goals, three assists) in his past 13 games.
