This week the Vegas Golden Knights goaltender met his namesake, or almost namesake,
a Jack Russell terrier named Bark-Andre Furry
.
The pooch is the latest nod from a fan to the goalie, who has also been
sculpted out of chocolate
during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Fleury posed for a picture with the dog, who looks like he weighs less than one of the goalie's pads.
"My wife showed me on Instagram," Fleury told NHL.com. "She said, 'Did you see this dog?' And I thought it was hilarious. The [owner] comes to practice a bunch, with his dog, too. So our [public relations] girl brought him around to the bench to take a little picture."
In case you were wondering, yes, Bark-Andre Furry also wears No. 29.
Furry's owner, Rick Williams, originally named him Fenway after his loyalty to baseball's Boston Red Sox, who play at Fenway Park. But when the Golden Knights were born, Williams knew it was time for a new name.
"I think it just shows the support, how much people are getting into hockey in Vegas," Fleury said. "When this happens, I think it's a good sign of what the town thinks of the team and the crowd things of our team."
Fleury has two dogs of his own, goldendoodles Lily and Fiston.
The Golden Knights play at the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS). Fleury is 8-2 in the playoffs with a 1.53 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and four shutouts.
NHL.com correspondent Scott Billeck contributed to this report.
