Hey, did you hear about the kerfuffle in the ice-cold rink where the big cats play? Well, it sounds like the Florida Panthers’ own William Lockwood got himself a three-game timeout for getting a little too up close and personal with Minnesota Wild’s goalie sage Marc-Andre Fleury. The NHL’s hall monitors, I mean, Department of Player Safety, called it goalie interference. Shocking, right? This all went down during the first act of Friday’s ice capades.
Poor Fleury ended up being sidelined with an upper-body boo-boo and couldn’t come back to guard the net. Here’s a pro tip, folks: Don’t bulldoze into someone nicknamed “the Flower” unless you wanna get pricked by the league’s thorns. The tweet from Bally Sports North can attest to that – they even have a dramatic replay!
Now, this Lockwood character – he’s been trying to make friends with the puck, but so far, he’s only managed a single assist after hustling in 23 games. The guy’s obviously thirsty to make an impression in his debut Panthers season, but maybe knocking over vets isn’t the best icebreaker, eh?
As for Fleury, the magic 8-ball on his playing status is stuck on ‘ask again later.’ But didja know he’s been kinda legendary between the pipes this season? With an .897 save percentage over 23 gigs, he’s even leapfrogged the great Patrick Roy to snatch the silver medal spot on the all-time goalie wins leaderboard.
Now, the Wild has to skate on without their petal-bearing protector against the Carolina Hurricanes come Sunday. Will they storm through or end up in a whirlwind of trouble without their Flower? I guess we’ll find out.
Anyway, that’s the hockey hullabaloo for ya, courtesy of your pals at Score Media Ventures – and don’t you forget, they’ve got the full rights and blessings to tell the tale.
So, how’s that for a slice of icy drama?