A real Devil of a goalie
NEWARK, N.J. — After defending his goal better than anyone in the history of the NHL, Martin Brodeur had a net of his own — the one he cut down after breaking Patrick Roy's record for career wins.
"It's kind of hard for any athlete to think that they're going to be, to get a record like that, especially for goaltending," Brodeur said after making 30 saves and picking up win No. 552 in the New Jersey Devils' 3-2 decision over Chicago Tuesday night.
"I think this is what the ultimate record is I think in my mind with having the most wins. So I never thought that it was going to be possible. But definitely along the way getting closer and closer I knew it was going to happen eventually."
Brodeur had to sweat out the final nine seconds.
Down a goal, Chicago called a time out and gained control of the puck in the Devils' zone.
With the final seconds ticking down, forward Troy Brouwer fired a shot and Brodeur kicked out his right pad and watched the puck head to the corner.
Within seconds, the buzzer sounded and Brodeur put Roy, his childhood idol and a Hall of Famer, into second place.
"It was an exciting night," Brodeur said. "I'm happy that it's done and over with. It's been chaotic, the last few days. It was an awesome night. It was a great reception from the fans."
The end was a fitting tribute for the 36-year-old Brodeur. He leaped into the air and pumped the right hand that held his stick in exclamation as a sellout crowd once again roared "Mart-tee, Mart-tee."
He was immediately surrounded by teammates in a celebration that seemed akin to winning the Stanley Cup.
Instead of hoisting the trophy, Brodeur took out a pair of scissors and cut the net.
"It's definitely harder than I thought," Brodeur quipped. "These basketball players, it's only a little net. This was a big net. I had help from a couple of my teammates."
While other Devils finished the job of cutting down the net, Brodeur took a victory lap around the ice, high-fiving his coaches as he passed the bench.
The victory came in Brodeur's 987th game of a 15-year career played entirely with the Devils.
During that tenure, the likable Brodeur has led the Devils to three Stanley Cup titles and won the Vezina Trophy four times as the league's top goalie.
Now he holds the wins record, and another could soon fall. He is within four shutouts of passing Terry Sawchuk (103) for the NHL record, and he has a chance to push his win total well beyond 600.
"If this continues being fun, I'll stick around for a long time," Brodeur said.
