The Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Thursday night. It was another big win for Minnesota, who are chasing down the Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division. But the story of the night was Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who played his final game in Montreal against the Canadiens. His hometown team gave him a farewell after the game and he spoke to Joe Smith of The Athletic about the emotional night.

“Fleury kept skating in circles back and forth from the corner to his crease,” Smith wrote. “He said he thought, ‘Go boys. Go play.' Then he pointed to his heart and waved to the stands. ‘A couple blurry eyes,' he said. ‘It was an honor. An honor to be part of it.'”

The Canadiens put Fleury's picture on the scoreboard with the message “Congratulations on your legendary career” in French and English. The crowd then gave him a two-minute standing ovation that made him emotional. Smith reported that the crowd was a mix of Habs jerseys, Fleury jerseys, and his family who came in from his hometown.

Fleury grew up in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, which is 60 miles north of Montreal. He told Smith he grew up a huge Canadiens fan, celebrating their 1993 Stanley Cup winner and idolizing Patrick Roy.

The Wild can give Marc-Andre Fleury the ultimate send-off

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The class act from the Canadiens only happened because the Wild did the right thing and put Fleury in the lineup. Filip Gustavsson has been one of the best goalies in the league this year. But Fleury showed he is a more-than-capable backup in a shutout win over the Habs.

The Wild have not had a lot of playoff success in their history but have the team to make a run this year. It would be a fitting end for Fleury, who won three Stanley Cups with the Penguins and has been to two more Cup Finals. Part of their issue in the playoffs has been goaltending and Fleury can provide a solid second option.

While the Canadiens lost this game, they are fighting for their first playoff berth since 2020. They were not expected to beat the Wild but should be in the race moving forward.

The Wild are in the toughest division in the NHL and will have a brutal first-round matchup. Whether it is the Avalanche, Jets, or Stars, it will be the biggest matchup of the first round and a tough battle for Minnesota.