It’s a Wild ride for veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in victory over Oilers

EDMONTON, ALBERTA – Marc-Andre Fleury’s return to the Wild crease after a two-week hiatus felt like the future Hall of Famer was reintroducing himself.

The 39-year-old goalie scrambled for saves, came up clutch at a key moment with a risky move, and kept the vibe light with his teammates.

He was unpredictable and entertaining, the must-watch player in white-knuckle action.

And after a blooper at the beginning, the goaltender rebounded for another trademark, a win in the Wild’s 5-3 dismissal of the Oilers on Thursday night that was quintessential Fleury.

“I just try to leave it all out there,” he said, “and it worked out.”

This was Fleury’s first nod in six games and after that lengthy of a layoff — he hadn’t played since Nov. 7 at San Jose — he wanted to get off to a good start.

Instead, the opposite happened.

Just 27 seconds after the opening faceoff, Fleury was foiled by a puck that left Leon Draisaitl’s stick all the way inside Edmonton’s blue line, caromed off Kirill Kaprizov’s skate, rolled through the legs of two players and then bounced between Fleury’s pads as he tried to whack it away with his stick. It was a 135-foot goal.

“I haven’t played in so long,” Fleury said. “I wanted to do well and help the team and at the beginning to let that one in, I was mad for a little bit and then I just laughed. It was so stupid.”

The Wild showed their support, with a stick tap against Fleury’s pad and then on the scoreboard.

Matt Boldy erased the deficit before the period was over, and the team ran away during a three-goal second period en route to its NHL-leading ninth road victory that saw Fleury revert to form — as a jokester and in between the pipes.

“It’s Flower,” Kirill Kaprizov said. “He’s funny. Like 10 minutes later, somebody try to shoot him after red line, and he say something, and it was funny. He don’t care about this goal.”

“Yeah, I did a little celly to let the boys know I got it and we were good,” Fleury said.

“That’s what’s great about him,” Marcus Foligno said, “and it gave us all a little chuckle on the bench, too. So, it kind of makes us relax knowing that he’s having a good time out there.”

After three periods, Fleury racked up 28 saves in his 1,030th game, which passed Patrick Roy for third all-time among goalies.

He was also making his 1,000th start; only Martin Brodeur (1,251), Roberto Luongo (1,014) and Roy (1,003) have more. His poke check on Connor McDavid when the Wild were ahead 2-1 in the second period turned the page on the fluky first, Fleury denying the three-time NHL MVP of a goal and momentum.

“When you don’t play for a little bit, it always takes a little more time to relax and see the puck well and move well,” Fleury said. “I was chasing it a little bit at the beginning, and it’s good to get a few shots early. It was good to get into it after that start.”

Although his action has been infrequent while Filip Gustavsson has gone 9-3-2 with a league-leading 2.07 goals-against average and .926 save percentage that’s tied for second, Fleury hasn’t slouched when it’s been his turn.

He’s 4-0-1, his effort against the Oilers his fourth consecutive win, and he’s the only netminder who hasn’t suffered a regulation loss through at least five starts. Still, being the backup isn’t the role the three-time Stanley Cup champion and former Vezina Trophy winner is accustomed to having — a situation Fleury acknowledged isn’t always easy.

“I think he understands what’s going on,” coach John Hynes said. “The game schedule, too, was a little bit lighter for us, obviously, lots of days off and time in between games. But that’s what he does: He keeps himself in great shape. He’s got a great attitude. He practices hard.

“He knows that he’s got to be ready when he’s called upon to play, and he’s done a fantastic job.”

Foligno called Fleury “the most positive player” on the team, which makes his teammates want to win for him when he’s in the net.

Case in point: How they responded after Edmonton’s early goal.

“He’s always happy and smiling and on the ice, I think he makes everyone better because he competes,” Marcus Johansson said. “He wants to stop every puck in practice and his compete raises everyone else’s compete, too. He’s a great leader in this room.”

That dynamic was on display in Fleury’s latest appearance, an opportunity for him to relish the atmosphere that is still motivating the 39-year-old in his final season before retirement.

“Playing is what’s fun,” he said. “It’s what you battle in practice for, playing in games, and that’s why you can compete with the best players and try to win. The feeling of winning games and battling with your teammates is awesome, and I always want more. But at the same time, the team has been playing good and we’ve been winning. Gus’s been awesome. He has the best stats in the league, so I cheer him on and try to go hard in practice and when I get called upon, I try to help the team.

“I want to help. I don’t want to just go in there and let in too many of those first goals in. It’s a good feeling to win, that’s for sure.”