The Minnesota Wild will be relying heavily on their strong goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury when the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs officially get underway, but if the two goaltenders are feeling any pressure they aren’t showing any outwards signs of it.
In fact, Fleury and Gustavsson appear to be in the middle of an all-out prank war as they head into the playoffs with Fleury being the latest to fire off a shot at his fellow teammate. On Saturday, the Wild players who hit the ice were greeted by a bizarre sight as a mock representation of Gustavsson had been erected in the net, and I’m sure you can guess who the man behind the prank was.
If you zoom in to the picture, I thought the face that I presume Fleury drew himself was particularly amusing.
It was of course notorious prankster Marc-Andre Fleury, but in this case it sounds like he may actually have been provoked by Gustavsson.
You see Fleury recently had his socks sewn together by a sneaky prankster, but the veteran goaltender had been left unaware of who had pulled off the stunt. That was at least until Gustavsson outed himself during a recent interview, something that no doubt led to Fleury’s act of revenge on Saturday.
In fact, Fleury specifically mentions that he usually doesn’t target his goaltending partners, but Gustavson’s own prank appears to have prompted a change to that rule.
“I never go for my partner,” said Fleury when learning of the prank. “But I’ve got to give it to him… He must be big-time.”
Not only is this hilarious from the perspective of fans on the outside looking in, but it is also likely doing wonders to keep things loose and jovial as the Wild gear up for a tough first round playoff matchup against the Dallas Stars.
We likely haven’t seen the last of this little prank feud between the two goaltenders either, and quite frankly I can’t wait to see how Gustavsson will respond to this latest stunt from Fleury.
