Devils Team Report

INSIDE SHOTS

It’s almost getting to the point where you’re surprised when Martin Brodeur(notes) doesn’t set some sort of NHL record in a game.

The NHL’s all-time goaltending wins leader, who became the minutes leader earlier this season and is on the cusp of playing the most games in goal in league history, Monday night joined the late Terry Sawchuk atop the NHL’s all-time shutout list with 103.

“I just look behind me and there’s nobody close, and that’s pretty impressive to see so many shutouts,” Brodeur said after blanking Buffalo for No. 103. “But I think it’s just a lot of credit to the organization I’ve been playing (in) all my career the commitment defensively all the players that went through this organization while I was here, that they made. It became a big number and I hope it won’t stop there.”

Neither, apparently, will the winning. The Devils, who started the season with two losses, are 20-5-1 since. They’ve won their last three, six of their last seven.

Now they get their next five games at home, starting with Wednesday night’s visit by Carolina, the team that knocked them out of last season’s playoffs in the first round.

Devils 3, Sabres 0:   The Devils on Monday night played one of those complete games that make coaches smile. Playing on the road, they dominated a good Buffalo club and got 22 saves from Martin Brodeur as he recorded his NHL record-tying 103rd shutout.

The team effort was there, but the focus, as it so often is with this team, was on Brodeur, who had to make only 12 saves over the first two periods.

“I think it’s paying attention to details in the game,” Brodeur said of what he’s done. “I work really hard to do the right things to be ready for a game, mentally and physically. I don’t take anything for granted. I don’t think I’m better than anybody. When I go out there I just play as hard as I can and do the best I can. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Brian Rolston(notes), Travis Zajac(notes) and Niclas Bergfors(notes) scored as the Devils improved to 11-2-1 on the road.

NOTES, QUOTES

• G Martin Brodeur recorded his first NHL shutout Oct. 20, 1993 against Anaheim. He notched his NHL record-tying 103rd Monday night, the second of his career against Buffalo. The late Terry Sawchuk was 40 when he recorded shutout No. 103, and he played little after that. Brodeur is 37 and shows no signs of letting up.

• Martin Brodeur’s coach, Jacques Lemaire, thinks it’s tougher to get shutouts these days than when Terry Sawchuk played. “Oh, yeah. Big time. It’s tougher to get a shutout now than it was five, 10 or 15 years ago,” Lemaire said. “The guys are so good with the puck. They’re going to get chances. The goalie has to be good. Tonight they could’ve scored three goals.”

• LW Brian Rolston can be seen in a Visa Olympics commercial, with footage of him in a previous Olympics shown after Visa cleared it with his agent. “That is me,” Rolston told the Newark Star-Ledger. “I knew I was going to be in it. Me and Morgan Freeman.” Rolston told the paper the footage is “from the Olympics. It could be the last Olympics or at Salt Lake City.”

Quote To Note:   “It’s a big number. When I look back at the numbers of all the other goalies, it’s mind-boggling. It’s a little bit like the wins record was. But, especially for shutouts, with hockey changing so much, it’s going to get harder and harder to get them. So it means a lot. It’s a personal thing, but I see it as a team commitment throughout the years I’ve been in New Jersey.”—Devils goalie Martin Brodeur on tying Terry Sawchuk’s NHL shutout record with No. 103 Monday night.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltenders:   Martin Brodeur, Yann Danis(notes).

Defensemen:   Johnny Oduya(notes), Bryce Salvador(notes), Colin White(notes), Andy Greene(notes), Mark Fraser(notes), Matt Corrente.

First Line:   Zach Parise(notes), Travis Zajac, Niclas Bergfors.

Second Line:   Brian Rolston, Patrik Elias(notes), Jamie Langenbrunner(notes).

Third Line:   Jay Pandofo, Rob Niedermayer(notes), Vladimir Zharkov(notes).

Fourth Line:   Rod Pelley(notes), Rob McAmmond, Ilkka Pikkarainen(notes).

Player Notes:  

• C Patrik Elias, seemingly frustrated over a lack of scoring (three goals in 13 games) since returning from hip/groin surgery, scored the winner in the shootout Saturday night but then left the dressing room before talking to the media. The next day, he explained he left quickly to tend to a personal matter at home.

• RW Jamie Langenbrunner has a five-game points streak (2-4-6) and is 5-12-17 in the last 14 games.

• C Travis Zajac is 3-9-12 in the last 12 games.

• W Vladimir Zharkov, who has played the last five games after his recall from Lowell, has an assist in each of the last three. “I like what he does,” said Devils coach Jacques Lemaire.

• D Andy Greene is 0-6-6 in the last seven games.

• LW Brian Rolston had four goals in the last five games, recording seven points over that span.

• D Matt Corrente, a healthy scratch Saturday night, was in the lineup Monday, allowing family members from his hometown of Mississauga, Ontario, 90 miles from Buffalo, to see him play in person.

• LW Andrew Peters(notes), a former Sabre, had a rough return to Buffalo. A known practical joker during his five years in Buffalo, he arrived at the arena and found his sticks taped together. He wasn’t thrilled with that, saying he has always been able to give and not take in the jokes department, and then found out he’d be a healthy scratch for the second time in as many games against his old team, his third straight scratch. “Why he’s not playing the last couple of games is only because his game dropped a bit,” said coach Jacues Lemaire. “We want him back to where he was when he was at his best. When he’s at his best, he’s capable of doing good things. When he’s not, he’s not playing as well.”

Medical Watch:  

• D Mike Mottau(notes) missed Monday night’s game with illness.

• D Paul Martin(notes) (broken arm) will miss an extended stretch.

• C Dainius Zubrus(notes) (broken kneecap) will miss an extended stretch.

• RW David Clarkson(notes) (broken bone above the ankle) will miss an extended stretch.