Devils 4, Penguins 0

Brodeur gets shutout #104

With the top spot in the NHL at stake, it wasn’t even close. New Jersey beat the Pens for the third time this season at the Igloo, 4-0. In the process, Martin Brodeur, easily the best goalie I’ve ever seen, broke the all-time shutout record. He now has 104.

To put it mildly, it was not a good night – you almost knew it wasn’t going to be when N.J. scored on their first shot, a lame Bryce Salvador wrister from the point. Fleury, just hours after being named the NHL’s second star for going 3-0-0 last week, got yanked after allowing four goals on 16 shots. He’s now 8-13-4 lifetime against New Jersey. In a somewhat scary moment, Staal left a trail of blood on the ice after getting a puck to the face in the 2^nd. He thankfully returned in the 3^rd wearing a full shield.

Things were so bad that Pens’ play-by-play man Paul Steigerwald found it appropriate to joke about the death of Hobey Baker at one point late in the game. The exchange between Steigy and Bob Errey was a tad uncomfortable.

Not much else to say about this one. The Pens managed to get 35 shots on Brodeur – and he did make some good saves (his stop on Cooke early in the 2^nd was robbery) – but the Devils were all over us in the 2^nd, scoring three goals in the first 11 minutes. The three-minute stretch where N.J. got goals three and four was just tough to watch. It’s hard to overcome a four-goal deficit against anybody. Against Brodeur and the Devils, it’s almost impossible.

Random thoughts:

• Eaton did not play due to an unspecified injury. Skoula replaced him in the lineup.
  
• I thought Errey had a great observation when he said, “The Devils take the emotion out of the game.” It sure seemed that way tonight. In fact, it almost always feels that way when the Devils beat us.
  
• If you didn’t know who Niclas Bergfors was at the start of the season, you do now. He’s scored in all three games against us.
  
•  Malkin has picked up a minor penalty in eight straight games.
  
• I can’t believe Dean McAmmond is still in the league. If it seems like he’s been playing forever, he has. The Devils are his ninth team.
  
• I also can’t believe Mike Mottau got right up after absorbing that huge hit from Adams in the 1^st. A slow-mo replay of the hit (Subway Sandwich of the Game!) confirmed how violent the collision was.
  
• Congratulations to Brodeur, who now owns just about every single meaningful goalie record in league history. On one hand, I hate having him in our division because he’s so damn good. On the other, it’s pretty cool to see the best netminder in history as often as we do. I was happy to hear the fans in attendance give him a nice ovation.