Fleury wins Wild debut on Spurgeon OT goal against Blue Jackets

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves in his Minnesota Wild debut, a 3-2 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.

The goalie was acquired by the Wild in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday for a conditional first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
"Still a bit nervous to do well in the first game here," Fleury said. "Just happy to get a win, you know? It's all I wanted for the first game here, so I was just happy to celebrate with the guys and keep this [winning] streak alive."
Minnesota traded goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks that same day, and Fleury has backed up Cam Talbot in the Wild's previous two games.
"Just [Fleury's] compete is phenomenal," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "He's aggressive. He competes. The save on [Patrik] Laine at the end, that's a world-class shooter and for him to come out like that, challenge, give no opportunity and then we're able to transition and get going the other way because of it. That was a big save for us."

Jared Spurgeon scored 1:24 into overtime, and Kirill Kaprizov scored twice for Minnesota (39-20-4), which has won five straight.
"[We] just [have] the belief all the time," Spurgeon said. "I think our second period sort of got away from what we were doing in the first period. Just overextending shifts and then you get stuck out there and we're not as aggressive as we usually are, which is what makes us good. We had to fix that."
Elvis Merzlikins made 35 saves for Columbus (32-29-5), which has lost three in a row. Merzlikins made 29 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
"[Merzlikins] gave us a chance to win tonight," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "Back-to-backs are tough. ... To play the way he did today, he laid it on the line."

With Fleury pulled for the extra attacker, Kaprizov tied the game 2-2 at 18:57 of the third period. The Wild lead the NHL with 18 6-on-5 goals this season.
"[Talbot] told me the team has been really good 6-on-5 so I was hoping for one," Fleury said. "But the guys played so good in the third. All period, they were grinding it out and it felt like it was a matter of time. It was a big relief when they got that goal."
Kaprizov made it 1-0 on the power play at 8:34 of the first period. Mats Zuccarello passed from behind the net to Kaprizov for the one-timer from a sharp angle.
"There's something special there," Evason said of Kaprizov. "The knack to step up. We've seen it through history that great players do that. They don't score necessarily in the 7-1 hockey games. They score in all situations but most importantly in these tight type of games and step up and find a way. He's a special player."
Jake Bean tied the game 1-1 at 8:16 of the second period. A scramble in the crease led to a loose puck from a Jack Roslovic shot, which Bean slipped past Fleury.
"Sometimes you get a lot of looks and those are the ones that go in," Bean said.

Jakub Voracek put Columbus ahead 2-1 at 18:55 of the second. During a 4-on-4, Voracek went stick side from the left circle for the goal, extending his point streak to five games (two goals, three assists).
"I'm frustrated for our guys, I'm going to be quite honest," Larsen said. "They played so hard tonight. They really did and I really wanted that win for them, for that group, to feel good about themselves, and they should because what they laid on the line tonight, it was impressive to me. It was. This group continues to surprise me in such a good way.
"Disappointed they don't get to enjoy it with the music tonight but that's a good hockey team they lost to."
NOTES: Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski left at 17:46 of the first period with an upper-body injury following a collision with Wild defenseman Jake Middleton. … Talbot, who has won seven straight starts, will play against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. … Fleury reached 20 victories for the 14th time, which now trails only Patrick Roy (17), Martin Brodeur (16) and Ed Belfour (15) for the most 20-win seasons in NHL history. … Kaprizov's 35 goals this season are fourth in Wild history behind Marian Gaborik (42 in 2007-08 and 38 in 2005-06) and Eric Staal (42 in 2017-18). … Kaprizov is the second Wild player to score 80 points in a season and is three from tying Gaborik's Minnesota single-season record set in 2007-08.