Marc-Andre Fleury became the fourth goalie in NHL history to play in 1,000 games on Sunday in the Minnesota Wild’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Martin Brodeur (1,266 games), Roberto Luongo (1,044) and Patrick Roy (1,029) are the only goalies to have played in more games than the 39-year-old Fleury, who is in his third season with the Wild. He spent the bulk of his career in Pittsburgh, making 691 appearances in 13 seasons with the Penguins.
“Obviously very flattered by the reception from the crowd, from my teammates. It means a lot,” Fleury said. “I feel very fortunate that I’ve played for so long and I got to do what I live for many years. I’m lucky for that.”
A Flower in full bloom 🌸<br><br>Marc-Andre Fleury joins Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, and Patrick Roy as the only goalies in NHL history to reach the 1,000 games played mark.<br><br>Congratulations on this incredible achievement, Flower! <a href=”https://t.co/TNdpYzrnvB”>pic.twitter.com/TNdpYzrnvB</a>
—@NHL
Fleury began the game third on the all-time victories list with 550, trailing Brodeur (691) and Roy (551). The Jets prevented him from tying Roy with a 3-2 victory.
“He’s got 999 other ones he can probably celebrate,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry, who beat Fleury for his 100th career goal on Sunday. “That’s a tremendous accomplishment, an amazing career, and it was pretty cool to be able to share the ice with a guy like that.”