Brodeur nears record No. 2 with easy shutout win over Wild

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Game Information

Arena: Prudential Center Location: Newark, New Jersey

Referees: Dennis LaRue, Bill McCreary Linesmen: Derek Nansen, Anthony Sericolo

Attendance: 17,625 (100.0% full)

Team Stat Comparison
214	Goals	238
197	Goals Against	207
66	Power Play Goals	58
36	Power Play Goals Allowed	65
9	Shorthanded Goals	12
6	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	4
889	Penalty Minutes	1058
11	Average Penalty Minutes	13

Scoring Summary
1ST PERIOD			MIN	NJD
No scoring this period			0	0
2ND PERIOD			MIN	NJD
1:24		Patrik Elias Unassisted	0	1
9:59		Brian Gionta Assists: Zach Parise, Mike Mottau	0	2
11:02		Johnny Oduya Assists: David Clarkson, Brendan Shanahan	0	3
3RD PERIOD			MIN	NJD
8:32		Patrik Elias (Power Play) Assists: Zach Parise, Paul Martin	0	4

NEWARK, N.J. -- Martin Brodeur is closing in on another record.

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In his first appearance since breaking the NHL victory record, Brodeur made 35 saves in the New Jersey Devils' 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday night for his 101st shutout, just two behind Terry Sawchuk's mark.

"It's a lot of shutouts," Brodeur said. "That record is proof of commitment by an organization to play well defensively. You can't do it by yourself. With the amount of shutouts that I've got, you've got to consider that the team is doing the right things."

And Brodeur is there to vacuum up the mistakes.

Marty's Milestones

Martin Brodeur's elbow injury might have postponed his chase toward history, but he finally attained goaltending immortality with a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday. Now, only Terry Sawchuck's shutout mark remains.

NHL Goalie Victories
1. Martin Brodeur 553
2. Patrick Roy 551
3. Ed Belfour 484
4. Curtis Joseph 451
5. Terry Sawchuk 447

NHL Goaltender Shutouts
1. Terry Sawchuk 103
2. Martin Brodeur 101
3. George Hainsworth 94
4. Glenn Hall 84
5. Jacques Plante 82

-- ESPN.com research

• All-time wins list | 300 winners

"It becomes so standard that it's hard to be amazed," said Brian Gionta, who had a goal for the Devils. "You see it day in and day out, just how good he is and how hard he works. Whether it's practice or warmups, he's battling for rebounds, trying to stop it. He's always trying to not let you score."

Patrik Elias scored twice, giving him 30 for the season, and Johnny Oduya added a goal to help the Devils extend their team-record home winning streak to 11.

The focus was again squarely on Brodeur as the Devils rebounded from an emotional letdown Wednesday night in a 4-2 loss in Carolina with backup Kevin Weekes in goal. That came a night after Brodeur earned his 552nd win to break Patrick Roy's record.

Brodeur was back in goal against the Wild and Jacques Lemaire, his coach when the Devils won their first Stanley Cup in 1995.

While there was a countdown to Brodeur's Roy chase, it's impossible to predict when another shutout might occur. With the way Brodeur is playing, it might not take long.

"We don't know when that's going to happen," Brodeur said. "Shutouts are part being good, part being lucky."

Brodeur is 9-1 with three shutouts since returning Feb. 26 after missing 50 games following biceps surgery.

Not surprisingly, the two defensive-minded teams played a scoreless first period with few scoring opportunities and the Devils outshooting the Wild 6-4.

Fast Facts

• The Devils have won 11 straight home games. Their last home loss was Feb. 7.

• The Wild have lost five of their last six games.

• Martin Brodeur, who set the NHL record for career wins, won more than twice as many games for Jacques Lemaire (160), Minnesota's current coach, than for any other coach.

• The Wild have just one win in nine all-time meetings vs. New Jersey.

-- ESPN research

The Devils scored three times in the second

Elias got things rolling with an unassisted goal at 1:24. New Jersey fired the puck into the Minnesota zone and Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky failed to control it on the end boards. The puck popped right to Elias who flicked a shot past Niklas Backstrom.

"You can't make mistakes like that when you are on the road playing against a good team," Lemaire said. "Those are mistakes you have to avoid. You do that once a year. Only one time."

The New Jersey goal seemed to ignite the Wild who finally generated some quality chances. Brodeur was up to the challenge, stopping a backhander from Eric Belanger and a crease shot by Colton Gillies.

The Devils broke it open on goals by Gionta and Oduya in a 1:03 span. Gionta finished off a 2-on-1 break with Zach Parise at 9:59 and Oduya followed with a blast from the point that concluded Backstrom's night as Josh Harding came in to finish up.

The Wild, awarded four power plays in the period, outshot the Devils 16-7.

In the third, Elias got his second tally, a power-play goal at 8:32 to give the Devils a 4-0 lead.

The remaining drama centered on Brodeur and the shutout bid that he preserved with stellar short-handed saves on Mikko Koivu, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kim Johnsson.

"We couldn't come up nothing," Lemaire said. "We had power plays and a lot of time on it. We didn't build on it. We got nothing."

Game notes
It was a rare one-game trip east for the Wild. They will play Edmonton at home Sunday. It also was Minnesota's first trip to the Prudential Center. ... Devils D Colin White missed a second straight game because of a lower-body injury. Jay Leach and Jay Pandolfo were healthy scratches for New Jersey. The Devils called up Leach from Lowell (AHL) on Thursday. He was farmed out March 4 for a two-week conditioning stint. ... Minnesota scratched Brent Burns (concussion), Craig Weller, Derek Boogaard and Kurtis Foster.