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      Wild at Canadiens | Recap

      MONTREAL -- Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves for his 76th NHL shutout, and the Minnesota Wild won their third straight game, 4-0 against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.

      Fleury’s shutout was his first since March 14 and came in what likely was his final game here -- barring a Stanley Cup Final matchup between these teams -- and was a game he asked to start.

      The 40-year-old, who announced in April that this would be his final NHL season, grew up a Canadiens fan in Sorel, Quebec, which is about an hour’s drive from Montreal. He was given a lengthy standing ovation and drew chants of “Fleury! Fleury! Fleury!” when he was congratulated on the video scoreboard for a “legendary career” during a TV timeout with 7:45 remaining in the third period.

      “I was a little stressed for this game, playing my last one here at home in Quebec in front of my family, in front of my friends,” Fleury said. “I’m glad everything went well. I was just hoping not to let in six.”

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          MIN@MTL: Fleury earns his 76th NHL shutout in his final start in Montreal

          Fleury became the first goalie in NHL history to have a shutout as a teenager and at 40 years or older. He also tied Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito for 10th on the NHL shutouts list. The three-time Stanley Cup champion is second in wins with 572, behind Martin Brodeur (691).

          Marco Rossi had a goal and an assist, and Liam Ohgren, Devin Shore and Frederick Gaudreau scored for Minnesota (31-17-4), which is 20-5-3 on the road and has the most road victories in the NHL, one more than last season (19-18-4). The Wild won 3-1 at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

          “Guys would have blocked shots with their face if they had to, honestly. That’s how everybody felt about this game tonight.” Gaudreau said. “Every game is big and in this league you can’t take a night off ever, but this one had a very special flavor and you could feel it. Everybody was just dialed and ready to go.”

          Jakub Dobes made 23 saves in his first regulation loss in seven starts (5-1-1) for Montreal (24-22-5), which is 0-3-1 in its past four.

          “It wasn’t a game where either side had a lot of scoring chances,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “But I felt like we didn’t have enough juice tonight. It wasn’t about effort but it felt like we lacked juice. They’re a team that plays well defensively and doesn’t give you a lot of opportunities, but we didn’t give them many either. They were opportunistic.”

          Ohgren gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 3:41 of the second period. Dobes had lost his stick before Ohgren scored on a wrist shot past the goalie’s blocker for his first goal in 15 games this season.

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              MIN@MTL: Ohgren scores the game's opening goal in the 2nd

              Rossi made it 2-0 at 5:47 when he drove unmarked to the net to take a pass from Marcus Foligno on a 2-on-1 and scored on a wrist shot from the inside edge of the left face-off circle.

              Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky hit the left post with a wrist shot from low in the left circle at 13:19.

              In the third period, Fleury made four saves on Josh Anderson, including one with a double-pad stack, in a span of 22 seconds ending at 5:31. Shore then pushed it to 3-0 at 5:56, scoring with a wrist shot from the slot after taking the puck away from Alex Newhook.

              “I wish we were on the other side of things tonight,” Anderson said. “But obviously you have a lot of respect for a goalie like that that’s been an inspiration to a lot of kids out there, especially Montrealers, and won a Stanley Cup and had a really great career. He put on a show tonight, that’s for sure.”

              Dobes did the splits to make a glove save on Joel Eriksson Ek’s one-timer on a 2-on-1 at 7:57.

              Gaudreau scored into an empty net with 1:27 remaining for the 4-0 final.

              Dobes scooped up the game puck and gave it to Wild captain Jared Spurgeon.

              “It was right there and I think that’s what somebody else would probably do for me,” Dobes said. “I’m really honored to share the moment with him and I’m really happy for him.”

              The Canadiens waited on the ice to shake hands with Fleury, and he was congratulated by St. Louis after the goalie celebrated the win with his teammates in front of his net.

              “I was surprised but it was very kind, very humbling for me that they stayed out, and Marty, who I played against for many years,” Fleury said.

              NOTES: Fleury is 28-13-8 against the Canadiens and 13-6-5 in Montreal. He has three shutouts in Montreal, most recently for the Chicago Blackhawks when he got his 500th win on Dec. 9, 2021. He also became the fourth visiting goalie to have at least three shutouts at Bell Centre, joining Brodeur (five), Cam Talbot (four) and Roberto Luongo (three). … Fleury has had at least one shutout in 21 seasons, passing Terry Sawchuk and tying Brodeur for the most in NHL history. … Spurgeon (assist) got his 401st point and passed Zach Parise for the third most in Wild history.