Devils top Flames in battle of NHL elite

The New Jersey Devils played well in the absence of goalie Martin Brodeur, and they’re playing even better now that he’s back between the pipes.  Brodeur moved within two victories of tying Montreal Canadiens legend Patrick Roy’s all-time victory mark of 551 on Tuesday night as the Devils defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2 at the Meadowlands Arena.  Combined with Boston’s loss to Columbus, the victory allowed Jersey to move within six points of the first place—though floundering—Boston Bruins for the NHL’s Eastern Conference lead.

It certainly wasn’t an easy victory for Brodeur, as the Flames and Devils played an end-to-end game with both teams peppering their opponent’s netminder with solid shots.  For the game, Calgary outshot New Jersey 37-31 and after the game Brodeur commented that the hard work made the victory all the more satisfying:

"The type of game as far as the quantity of shots and the power-play time we had to spend killing six or seven penalties, I think the playing and the feeling were a little different than the other ones.”

It was also a good opportunity for Brodeur to rebound from an ugly 7-3 loss to the Islanders in his previous outing:

"I was in certain situations where the puck hit me today, and Saturday it didn't. I worked hard yesterday in practice on a couple of little things, my balance. In Long Island my balance was not great and I worked on it."

The way things may work out for Brodeur, his assault on Roy’s record could end up looking like a movie script.  If he can pick up a win at home against Phoenix on Thursday night he’ll have the opportunity to tie Roy’s mark on Saturday night against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre in Montreal.  Not only will Roy’s recently retired #33 be hanging from the building rafters, but Brodeur is a native of Montreal and will have the opportunity to make history in his home town with a nationwide audience watching on “Hockey Night in Canada”.  Brodeur noted that his teammates are almost more excited at the prospect of this scenario playing out than he is:

"I think for people around me, they feel it's a great story. It's still alive. I have a chance. One more game to go."

New Jersey will host Phoenix on Thursday, with the aforementioned confrontation against ‘Les Habitants’ in Montreal on Saturday night.  They’ll return to New Jersey’s Meadowlands Arena for a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.  Calgary holds the third place spot in the Western Conference, though they’re well behind San Jose and Detroit who are ‘mano a mano’ for the best record in the NHL.  They’ll play a big game against Detroit at the Joe Louis Arena on Thursday night and at Toronto on Saturday night before returning to their home in Western Canada for a Wednesday night contest against the Dallas Stars at the Pengrowth Saddledome.