It’s almost over for Marc-Andre Fleury, all the questions from reporters, home and away, all the talking about himself. It’s not his favorite subject, but it was inescapable as he neared the 1,000-game mark and his 551st win.

The Wild goaltender still has a little bit to go.

On New Year’s Eve, Fleury played in his 1,000th NHL game, becoming only the fourth goaltender to accomplish the feat. Then on Saturday, he backstopped a 4-3 overtime victory at Columbus for his 551st win, tying him with Patrick Roy for second on the NHL career list.

The next step is to pass Roy, a childhood idol, and take sole possession of second place behind Martin Brodeur (691). Then it will be one more postgame episode of the Marc-Andre Fleury Show and the veteran can go back to talking about the season.

“Thousand games and the wins, right?” Fleury said after making 25 saves Saturday to help Minnesota end a four-game skid. “We’ve been losing a few lately, too, so every day it’s always a question. … It’ll be nice to get one more (win).”

That could come as soon as Monday night in a 7 p.m. puck drop against Central Division rival Dallas at Xcel Energy Center.

Saturday was a game that neither Fleury nor his teammates will ever forget, but his next win will be even bigger, giving him a place in the NHL annals that, like Brodeur’s 691 wins, might never be reached by another.

The Wild tied and won Saturday’s game in a late flurry, knotting it on a Marcus Johansson goal with 1:32 left, and then winning it on Marco Rossi’s one-timer from the right circle with 1:56 left in overtime. When it ended, Fleury’s teammates raced to the other end of the ice to congratulate him.

“Everything he has done so far, it’s just incredible,” Rossi said. “He tied the record. I think it’s incredible. So, you want to cheer for him. The last few games, it wasn’t really easy. This game was just unreal. And I think that win can help us a lot as a team.”

This is an important stretch for the Wild, who play the Stars on Monday at home, then Sunday in Dallas. The last time the teams met, Nov. 12 at the X, the Wild played possibly their worst game of the season in an 8-3 loss. But a lot has happened. In the wake of a seven-game losing streak, John Hynes replaced Dean Evason as coach Nov. 28 and the team has gone 12-7-0 since.

“That was in the past, and we’ll hit the refresh button and see how we can do tomorrow,” Hynes said.

On Sunday, the Wild were 13th in the Western Conference, three points out of a playoff spot, and 11 behind fifth-place Dallas.

Fleury has played every minute since No. 1 goaltender Filip Gustavsson was sidelined by a lower-body injury after two periods in Winnipeg on Dec. 30, and the Wild are weighing options now that Jesper Wallstedt, the organization’s top goalie prospect, is healthy. After missing 10 days with an undisclosed injury at Iowa, Wallstedt has started the past two games, both 4-1 losses to Grand Rapids in Des Moines — with a lot of Iowa’s best players currently on the Minnesota roster.

Wallstedt, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2021 entry draft, has spent most of the past two seasons in Iowa but has never played in the NHL. Current backup Zane McIntyre, a longtime professional with eight NHL games under his belt, has yet to play. After playing at Dallas on Wednesday, the Wild have back-to-back home games against Philadelphia and Arizona.

“We’re going to go into tomorrow with what it is, and then I think we’ll re-evaluate — Gus, Fleury, Wallstedt, McIntyre — and see what’s going to be the right thing,” Hynes said Sunday.

Hynes said Gustavsson did some work on the ice before practice Sunday but is unlikely to return this week. That leaves Fleury, one of a handful of players who didn’t practice Sunday, an immediate chance to make history — and turn the page on this chapter of a 20-year NHL career.

“He’s one of the greatest hockey players to ever play the game, but you’d never know that if you didn’t know who he was.” rookie defenseman Brock Faber said. “He’s a hell of a leader on this team and one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. It doesn’t quite feel real for me just looking at him knowing when I was 12, 13, 14 — starting to really get into hockey — I was watching this guy. It’s crazy. Surreal.”

Briefly

Marcus Foligno, who has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury, was a full participant in Sunday’s practice and could return for Monday’s game. “We’ll make a decision probably tomorrow morning,” the coach said.

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