After the Minnesota Wild beat the Washington Capitals at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Thursday night, one legend made sure all his teammates acknowledged another.
Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, who's closing in on the NHL's all-time goals record, stopped teammates from leaving the ice until they shook hands with Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who ranks second all time in goalie wins and intends to retire after the season. The Capitals lined up everyone to shake Fleury's hand after the game.
The two legends have a long history of going up against each other when Fleury was with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington's Metropolitan Division rival. They clearly have great respect for each other, demonstrated by the classy gesture from Ovechkin.
Fleury didn't start as Filip Gustavsson was in net for the Wild Thursday night, and Ovechkin didn't score, keeping him at 889 career goals, just five shy of matching Wayne Gretzky for the all-time mark. But the two legends continue to add to their impressive resumes this season, and Ovechkin provided quite a highlight on Thursday.
Jiricek out for season
The Wild announced on Friday that defenseman David Jiricek suffered a lacerated spleen in Saturday's Iowa Wild game and will be out for the remainder of the season.
He's expected to make a full recovery and return for the start of the 2025-26 season.
Jiricek, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets whom the Wild acquired in November, had a stint with Minnesota in January amid a number of injuries along the blue line, including Jonas Brodin's extended absence. Jiricek played six games for the Wild this season, recording a goal and an assist.
The Wild return to the ice on Saturday night when they host the New Jersey Devils for a 5 p.m. puck drop at the X.
