Wilderness Walk: Fleury out, McIntyre in

This is just a little less than ideal. I’m sure every reader is aware of this by now, but Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury suffered an upper-body injury and will be out of the lineup for the next little while. Initially we did not know a specific timeline, but the Wild placed Fleury on the Injured Reserve list, which means that he will be out a minimum of seven days. Could be longer, but that’s the base line right now.

In response, 30-year-old Zane McIntyre has been called up from the AHL and will serve as Filip Gustavsson’s backup. The older depth veteran netminder has played a total of eight NHL games, as he spent the vast majority of his career in the AHL.

Obviously, Gustavsson being the starter was never a plan this season, but after a rocky start he has been more than adequate. In the five games he’s played, he doesn’t have the best team winning record (1-3-1) but it has not been his fault at all. He came in relief of Fleury in the disaster game against the Los Angeles Kings, then had to make his first full start against a bloodthirsty Colorado Avalanche, so those first two appearances aren’t great. But in his last three, he has earned a .947 save percentage and a 1.67 goals against average. He won’t keep that rate up through Fleury’s absence, but he’s shown that he can be more than just a goalie with promise.

That’s Wild

Off the trail...