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Fleury shares sad update on his future after being eliminated in Game 6.

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The Minnesota Wild were eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention on Friday night, and although there will be plenty of discussion about how things went down in this series, we’ll table that discussion for another time. That’s because on Friday night, following the Wild’s elimination at the hands of the Dallas Stars, many fans were openly wondering about the future of veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury remains under contract with the Wild for the 2023-24 NHL season, having signed a two year deal with the Wild in the summer of 2022, but is coming off a rather underwhelming season by his standards. Fleury was just OK during the regular season with a 2.85 goals against average and a .908 save percentage, but even those underwhelming numbers fell off a cliff come the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Fleury recorded a brutal 7.00 goals against average and a .774 save percentage in his lone start in Game 2, and although he would appear once more in relief of Filip Gustavsson he finished the 2023 playoffs with a 5.48 goals against average and a .811 save percentage.

On Friday, following the conclusion of Game 6 and his team’s outster from the playoffs, Fleury appeared to admit that all of this had taken a toll on him when he openly spoke about the end of his career in the NHL.

“That might be it,” said Fleury of playing out the final year of his contract.

It’s not hard to see why such a poor season would take a toll on a proud Stanley Cup champion like Fleury, but hopefully a more successful campaign in the 2023-24 season will leave the usually jovial netminder feeling rejuvenated.

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Wild victims of a brutal call by NHL officials in Game 4.

The Minnesota Wild were the victims of a pretty inexcusable call on the part of the National Hockey League’s officials on Sunday night and, if the veins that were practically bursting from the head of Wild head coach Dean Evason were any indication, it seems very unlikely that they are going to be happy with the outcome of Game 4.

The Wild were battling the Dallas Stars in a hotly contested game, one that was separated by only a single goal in the third period, when Wild forward Marcus Foligno was shaken up on a play after an awkward attempt at a hit on Stars forward Mason Marchment. Marchment managed to avoid the majority of the contact, but in doing so his stick came across the face of Foligno and would in fact result in the Wild forward being busted open on the play.

Although it initially appeared as though the Wild might get a power play out of the whole thing, when Foligno got back up to his feet he was shocked to learn that he was in fact the one headed to the penalty box. The officials on the ice had called Foligno for “tripping” on the play, resulting in outrage from both Foligno as well as the rest of the Minnesota Wild.

Making matters even worse, the Stars would score on the ensuing power play with Stars forward Tyler Seguin notching the power play goal. It was at this moment that Evason appeared to be boiling on the bench, with his face muscles seemingly contorting as he did his best to contain his anger at the NHL’s officials.

Adding insult to injury, the Wild managed to come within a goal by scoring with only a minute left on the game clock. That means that this call from the NHL officials, and the ensuing power play goal, proved to be a deciding factor in tonight’s game.

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Marcus Foligno calls out the NHL’s “bullshit” officiating in Game 4.

Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports

Game 4 between the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars will go down as a controversial one, with many on the Minnesota Wild side of the equation leaving the game feeling like they got a raw deal from the National Hockey League’s officials. None more so than veteran Wild forward Marcus Foligno.

Following the conclusion of Game 4, Foligno made no effort to hide his disdain, or avoid any potential fines, when he slammed the officiating in Sunday’s game. Specifically, Foligno objected to a pair of penalty calls that had been made against him during the course of the game.

The first, an interference call that Foligno argues should have been fair game, and a highly controversial “tripping” call that would be levied against Foligno at a pivotal moment late in the game’s third period.

”It’s a joke. It doesn’t make any sense,” said Foligno on Sunday. “I go to hit a guy who touches the puck. It’s not interference. I go, I get high-sticked in the face. It’s not a tripping call when you hit a guy clean on. It’s bullshit.”

Foligno also indicated that he had received no explanation for why the call was made, and used the word “arrogant” to describe what he did encounter from the NHL officials on the ice Sunday night.

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Brock Faber calls out “fake tough guy” Ryan Reaves.

Sports just have a way of bringing people together and that is especially true when you are playing alongside fellow competitors on a team, like in the sport of hockey for example.

Case in point, Minnesota Wild rookie defenseman Brock Faber appears to have quickly integrated himself into the Wild locker room given some of the rather hilarious comments he made about one of his notoriously tough teammates on Saturday.

Faber, who has only played 2 games thus far as a member of the Wild, was asked what it was like to play alongside National Hockey League enforcer Ryan Reaves when he dropped one of the funniest quotes of the season.

“Yeah he’s not that scary though… fake tough guy,” said Faber with a giant smile, eliciting a number of laughs from the media.

Unfortunately for Faber the Wild’s big man was within earshot of his comments and quickly chirped the rookie right back.

“You better hope I re-sign here,” said Reaves, eliciting even more laughter than before.

Faber integrating himself so quickly with his new teammates is no doubt a big positive for the Wild and the humor is a great way of keeping things loose as the team heads into a tough first round playoff matchup against the Dallas Stars. Whether or not the comments might come to bite Faber in the butt later down the line, only time will tell.

You can see the interaction between the two Wild players in the short clip below:

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Marc-Andre Fleury gets revenge on Filip Gustavsson.

Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune

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.

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Ryan Hartman gets the last laugh on Jordan Binnington.

The St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild have developed quite the personal rivalry this season, with that rivalry being centered around Minnesota Wild veteran forward Ryan Hartman and St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington.

It wouldn’t be an understatement to suggest that there is some bad blood between the two men, especially after the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety suspended Binnington just last month for striking Hartman in the face with his blocker.

On Saturday night it would be Hartman’s turn to exact a measure of revenge on his rival, and he did so in spectacular fashion when he got the chance to mock Binnington after scoring a shorthanded goal on the Blues goaltender.

Hartman would create a turnover in the neutral zone which in turn cause Binnington to come charging out of his net in the hopes of stopping Hartman with a poke check. The crafty Wild veteran got to the puck first though and managed to avoid the contact from Binnington, giving him a clear path to the net. Hartman would not only bury the shorthanded goal as Binnington was forced to watch on, but he even wagged his finger in disapproval at the Blues goaltender after doing so.

To add insult to injury, Hartman would create another turnover in the neutral zone moments later which also resulted in another goal from the Wild.

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Two NHL teams can clinch a playoff spot today, here’s how.

David Kirouac/CSM/Zuma

The Stanley Cup playoffs are right around the corner and as we draw closer and closer to the end of the 2022-23 regular season, more and more teams are starting to secure their spot in those very same playoffs.

On Monday, two teams in the National Hockey League will have the chance to officially punch their ticket into the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs with both the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild having the opportunity to lock themselves in for this season’s big tournament.

For the Stars, locking their spot in the playoffs will be relatively simple. All they have to do to officially advance tonight is pick up a win over their opponent, the Nashville Predators. Whether that win comes in regulation, overtime, or the shootout will make no difference, a win and the Stars will be in.

The other team that can secure their spot today is the Minnesota Wild, and in the case of the Wild there is an extra path to success. Like the Stars, the Wild will advance if they pick up a win in any fashion over their opponents tonight, the Las Vegas Golden Knights. However if they fail to do so they still have a way forward, thanks in large part to the aforementioned Dallas Stars.

Should the Wild fail to win but manage to force overtime, a single point combined with a win from the Stars over the Predators would also be enough to push them over the edge.

Will either of these teams advance tonight? Let us know your predictions in the comments.

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Wild confirm the worst for injured Mason Shaw on Monday.

The Minnesota Wild were very concerned over the weekend when forward Mason Shaw went down with what looked like a serious-looking injury, and unfortunately those concerns have now been realized.

On Monday, the Wild revealed that Shaw had torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during Saturday night’s game between the Wild and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Furthermore the Wild confirmed that Shaw would not be seen again this season, no surprise given the serious nature of his injury.

Shaw suffered the non-contact injury when he tried to quickly shift his momentum behind the Minnesota Wild net, only to catch an edge and send himself crashing awkwardly into the boards. His right leg appeared to take the worst of the blow at the time, and we now know that to definitely be the case given the injury update.

The Wild are playoff bound, so losing Shaw at this stage of the season will prove to be a big blow to the Wild’s bottom six.

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Mason Shaw suffers a gruesome looking injury on Saturday night.

It’s impossible not to feel bad for young Masow Shaw here.

On Saturday night, the 24 year old Minnesota Wild centerman suffered what at first glance appears to be a nasty looking knee injury in the first period of a game between the Wild and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. There was no real contact on the play and instead it was Shaw himself who, via his own forward momentum, propelled himself awkwardly into the boards.

Shaw appeared to catch an edge and lose his balance as he was backchecking on a play, resulting in his knee twisting awkwardly as he went into the boards. Considering the fact that Shaw has already dealt with 3 serious ACL injuries throughout his young career, the concern regarding his knee was immediate.

Shaw was unable to put any weight down on his injured leg, and was practically carried off the ice by his teammates.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of this incident was an angle from the Vegas feed that appears to indicate that Shaw is very aware of how bad things are. Shaw immediately hangs his head in resignation following the injury, already a bad sign, but if you watch closely he also nods towards the Wild bench at the end of this clip, as if to signal that he knows the situation is quite bad.

According to Wild insider Mike Russo, Shaw was unable to so much as walk down the runway, another bad sign.

Given Shaw’s injury history and the relatively close proximity of the Stanley Cup playoffs, you have to wonder if the Wild may have lost an important part of their bottom 6, perhaps even for the remainder of the season, at a very inopportune time.