Martin Brodeur has moved past Terry Sawchuk on the all-time shutout list and into first place with his 104th, recorded Monday night in his team’s 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The New Jersey Devils goalie has now achieved the only major goaltending milestone missing from his resume, making him the game’s most dominant goaltender statistically. At 37-years-old, Brodeur has stacked up a career in the National Hockey League that most players only dream of.

Think about it: three Stanley Cups, four Vezinas, four Jennings Trophy wins, ten All-Star game appearances, a Calder Trophy, and a bloody “rule” designed to break down his playing of the puck behind the net. And that doesn’t even touch the guy’s international play, which is a staggering set of statistics all its own.

His teammates were like fans in the locker room at the Mellon Arena after the game, crowding around him for pictures and pats on the back. It must be something to share a locker room, a team bus, a team jet, and the ice with a legend.

“I don’t think much needs to be said, it’s pretty self-explanatory,” said Zach Parise. “All the winning that he’s done, the shutouts, the Cups, it’s unbelievable. It’s great for a guy like me, and all of us at this time, we’re on the ice when all these records are happening. I mean, it’s pretty fun. I’m sure it’s fun for him but it’s pretty cool for us too.”

Sawchuk’s shutout record was long believed to be one of the NHL’s great untouchables. It was a record that nobody thought a goalie, especially in today’s NHL, could touch. The record stood more than 39 years after Sawchuk’s retirement, too, and people were beginning to wonder if anyone would ever get there.

“This record was held so long by Terry Sawchuk,” said Brodeur. “When you do break records and you see how long they’ve lasted, it’s pretty cool. Tying it was pretty amazing in Buffalo a couple weeks ago and now surpassing it, it’s a great honour for me to be in that position.”

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Tonight was a special night as the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted a star-studded Class of 2009 into the record books. Forwards Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and defenceman Brian Leetch were inducted as Honoured Members on Monday in the players category, while New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello was enshrined as a builder.

Yzerman, Hull and Robitaille accounted for 2,101 goals over the course of their careers. They all won a Stanley Cup together, too, in Detroit in 2002. And Leetch was certainly no slouch, helping lift the Rangers to their own Cup in 1994.

There’s really no questioning any of these selections for the Hall of Fame, as each has left an indelible mark on the game of hockey.

Yzerman helped transform the Red Wings franchise into a modern juggernaut, joining the team as Detroit’s fourth overall selection in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft and never looking back. After scoring 87 points in his rookie campaign, Stevie Y spent his entire 22-year career with the Wings. During his tenure, the Red Wings won three Stanley Cups, with Yzerman winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1998.

Brett Hull ranks third on the all-time list with 741 goals over his 19-year career. He first got his break with the Calgary Flames in the 1986 playoffs and has since been known as one of the league’s most potent offensive threats. Hull was one of the most consistent players in the league, usually good for over 30 goals a season. He laid out three consecutive 70-goal seasons with the St. Louis Blues and won Stanley Cups with Dallas and Detroit.

“Lucky” Luc Robitaille retired as the highest scoring player at his position in league history, ranking 10th on the all-time list with 668 goals. Not drafted until the ninth round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Robitaille won the Calder Trophy in his debut season with the Los Angeles Kings and followed that up with seven straight seasons of 44 goals or more. His career best season came in the 1992-1993 season where he posted a total of 63 goals.

Brian Leetch was drafted ninth overall by the New York Rangers in the 1986 Entry Draft and would go on to become one of the club’s most popular players in its storied history. He enjoyed his career best season in 1991-1992 when he potted 100 points and won the first of two Norris trophies for his career. Leetch also won the Conn Smythe Trophy with the Rangers after helping them end a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in ‘94.

As for Lou Lamoriello, his contributions to the game of hockey over 40 years go without saying. He is one of the icons of organization, setting up the New Jersey Devils for three Stanley Cup victories during his time with the club and making an impact at the professional and collegiate levels of hockey.

It’s hard to argue with this list of inductees for 2009, as each has made an impact and impression on the game that will be felt for countless generations.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

As of October 28th, there have been 4 confirmed cases of H1N1 in the NHL. The Washington Capitals confirmed Wednesday that forward Quintin Laing is being treated for H1N1. Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid, Colorado Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj and New York Islanders forward Doug Weight have all been previously diagnosed as well.

Over the course of the last century, the NHL has had its share of battles with different ailments. Infections, Cancer (affecting some of the biggest names) and yes…you guessed it…the flu. The story of the flu and its impact on the NHL’s second year is actually quite interesting and tragic at the same time.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1919 that ended up in the cancellation of the Stanley Cup Final…I’ll give you the short version;

Americans and Canadians were celebrating the end of World War I, but were growing more apprehensive about the influenza epidemic that had already ravaged Europe and seemed to be making its way to Canada. The Montreal Canadiens were taking the transcontinental train to the west coast to take on the Seattle Metropolitans for the Stanley Cup.

Upon arriving, there were some questions raised about having so many people in such a confined hockey arena. Large public gatherings were the breeding ground for the flu.

Game one went to Seattle, as they destroyed the Canadiens (feels good to write that!) by a score of 7-2. The Habs rebounded back in game 2 taking Seattle 4-2. The series was tied at one game each.

Game three was yet another pounding by Seattle as they beat Hall of Fame goalie, Georges Vezina 7 times for the second time in the series. It looked like the Metropolitans had Vezina figured out.

Game 4 was described by NHL historian Charles Coleman as “the greatest match ever played on the Pacific Coast”. The Canadiens “Bad” Joe Hall and Seattle’s tough guy Cully Wilson highlighted the night as the game ended in a 0-0 tie and 20 minutes of overtime settled nothing…a scoreless tie in the Stanley Cup final!!

In game 5, the Habs game back from a 3 goal deficit to tie the game. Two goals came courtesy of Newsy Lalonde and another by Jack McDonald. The game was sent to overtime where Montreal’s Odie Cleghorn beat Seattle’s net minder at 15:57 into the extra period to tie the series yet again.

Unfortunately, before the 5th game had ended, Montreal’s Joe Hall was rushed to the hospital with the flu. It hit the series hard with 4 additional players and Montreal manager George Kennedy all being bed-ridden by Spanish flu. Kennedy wanted to continue the series with substitute players from the Victoria team, as Montreal was unable to compete. Seattle opposed the suggestion.

Kennedy forfeited the Cup to Seattle coach Pete Muldoon, but he refused to accept it. The Stanley Cup was never awarded that year, but it will always be remembered for the spirited play and overwhelming sportsmanship of both teams. The Stanley Cup engraving reads as follows;
“1919: Montreal Canadiens, Seattle Metropolitans. Series Not Completed.”

Hall would never see his home arena again as he would die in hospital less than a week after being taken out of the game.

Joseph Henry Hall won two Stanley Cups in his career and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1961.

Posted By Pat Lynch

I always grab my kids and stick them in front of the TV when something spectacular is about to happen in sports so that some day they can tell their kids “I watched Wayne Gretzky play his last game” or “I watched Tiger beat Jack’s major championship record”. I know that last one hasn’t happened yet, but you can bet that my entire family will be watching when it does. I’ve always thought that we live in a very exciting time for sports figures. Orr, Favre, Jordan, Tiger, Gretzky…

If you think about it, it’s really quite incredible.

As a result, I have always thought there were a handful of records in the NHL that I assumed would never be challenged. Gretzky’s 92 goal season or 215 point season, Selanne’s most goals as a rookie with 76, a little known goalie named Sam LoPresti’s record of stopping 80 shots in one game. Yes, it was only 3 periods (against the Bruins, of course) and no, he didn’t play for Toronto…it was Chicago, actually. The other big record that I never thought I would see fall is Terry Sawchuk’s 103 career shutouts, and yet Martin Brodeur is set to break it over the course of the next few weeks or months.

When I first heard how close he was, I have to admit that I was skeptical about the comparison. You know, I thought Sawchuk had played far fewer games than Brodeur…actually only 35 to date. That’s not a very big gap, so I compared the rest of the stats trying to find where Brodeur would fall short and Sawchuk would be far and away, the better goaltender. Feeling somewhat enlightened, let me share with you my findings;

Seasons Played – Brodeur 17/ Sawchuk 21
Minutes Played – Brodeur 59,448 min/ Sawchuk 57,194 min
Goals Against Average – Brodeur 2.21/ Sawchuk 2.51
Wins – Brodeur 561/ Sawchuk 447

Some other key differences are obviously, the size of the pads in today’s game. In comparison, the goalies that play today would look more like lacrosse goalies if put beside goalies of the 60’s (not to mention Sawchuk played without a mask until the 1962/63 season with just 8 seasons remaining in his career). In Brodeur’s defense, today’s players are bigger, faster and shoot harder. The game is quite different now in some aspects.

Sawchuk was taken from us too early, and there will always be a little bit of mystery surrounding his death. In the summer of 1970, an alcohol induced wrestling match with teammate Ron Stewart ended up in Sawchuk being rushed to a hospital. His gallbladder was removed and he also had a lacerated liver. Unable to recover, the nurse said “His heart just stopped”.

The HHoF’s 3 year waiting period was waived for him and he was inducted in 1971, which puts him exceptional company. The waiting period was waived for only ten players deemed exceptionally notable: Dit Clapper (1947), Maurice Richard (1961), Ted Lindsay (1966), Red Kelly (1969), Terry Sawchuk (1971), Jean Beliveau (1972), Gordie Howe (1972), Bobby Orr (1979), Mario Lemieux (1997) and Wayne Gretzky (1999).

It’s always difficult to compare players from different eras, but Brodeur is as close a comparison to Sawchuk that we will likely see in our generation.
We are indeed, very fortunate to be witness to some incredible athletes in sports history.

An emotional Gordie Howe was once quoted as saying this;

“The Uke (Sawchuk) was the best goalie I ever saw, everything that a goalie should be!”

He could say the same for Brodeur.

Posted By Pat Lynch

His team might be off to a slow start, but defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom isn’t letting that get to him. In fact, he reached a milestone in helping his Red Wings get back to a .500 record when he notched his 1,000 career point. That makes him the first European defender to reach that mark and the eighth player in NHL history to do it.

Of course, if you ask the veteran defenceman, he’s likely to tell you that Detroit’s 5-2 victory matters much more than his individual record does. And, in many ways, he’s right. Detroit has been struggling out of the gate this season and really needed tonight’s win over the Los Angeles Kings to bring them up to a 3-3 record.

Lidstrom’s accomplishment puts him in good company, especially when he’s among fellow Red Wings like Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman and Alex Delvecchio. With 229 goals and 771 assists in 1,336 career games, his career is nothing short of spectacular. But some of his real accomplishments have little to do with scoring statistics, as Lidstrom is one of the league’s most defensively reliable players at any position.

Lidstrom, who is a six-time Norris winner, has been one of the NHL’s most consistent players. His conditioning is impeccable and he shows up every game with energy and the hunger to win. He is a model player for young kids looking to get into the game at the defence position and will remain so for a long time.

“It’s a huge accomplishment, 1,000 points, but he’s done it over his whole career,” Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood said. “So it’s something you can’t really be surprised about. It’s consistency over a long period of time.”

Indeed, Nicklas Lidstrom has been at this level for his whole career. In fact, The Hockey News recently selected him as the best European-trained player ever in the National Hockey League. At 39, it’s safe to say that Lidstrom’s career may be reaching its twilight hours, but it’s also safe to say that when he does retire, he’ll go out playing at the same consistent level we’re all used to.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The news of Joe Sakic’s retirement was out earlier this week, but I’ve decided to keep any mention of it off this particular website until The Man made his formal announcement Thursday.

Sakic, fighting back tears, announced his retirement from the game of hockey at a Colorado Avalanche press conference. Burnaby Joe, 40-years-old, will always be remembered as an understated and quiet superstar who showed his personality through his actions and leadership. He was quiet and charismatic off the ice and his presence will be certainly missed.

“I’m leaving the game of hockey with nothing but great memories,” Sakic said. “Hockey has given me everything.”

Sakic has two Stanley Cups, a 1996 Conn Smythe award, and a 2001 Hart Trophy on his resume. He was voted to 13 All-Star games and played in 12 of them. Sakic has 1,641 points in 1,378 games over 20 NHL seasons, having spent every single NHL season of his career with the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise. He was drafted by the franchise in 1987, going 15th overall.

For Sakic, however, watching him play the game was less about the stats he put up on the board and less about his deadly wrist shot and more about his character and class. Whether he was passing the Cup to Ray Bourque to create one of hockey’s greatest passionate memories or leading Team Canada to Olympic and World Cup of Hockey gold medals, he was always the epitome of what a hockey player should be.

Sakic’s reputation for being a class act is certainly well known and it was reinforced at the press conference by former teammate Adam Foote and Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix.

“That class act of yours might go down in history as one of the most memorable moments that united the hockey world,” Foote said of Sakic’s passing the Cup to Bourque.

“My family and I are privileged to know you, and we’re convinced we’re better people because of you. You make everyone around you better,” Lacroix said.

We all have terrific memories of Joe Sakic and we’ll always have those memories to point our children and our children’s children to when they ask what it means to be a great player and a great human being. Always understated, always classy, always professional, Super Joe’s retirement may well mark the end of an era in the game of hockey. He will be missed.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The NHL added four new members to the Hall of Fame, selecting Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, and Luc Robitaille for the 2009 class. The induction ceremony will take place on November 9 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Also, Lou Lamoriello was named to the Hall of Fame as a builder.

According to the CBC, “there were five forwards in their first year of eligibility who combined for more than 3,200 regular-season goals in their illustrious careers: Yzerman, Hull, Robitaille, Dave Andreychuk and Alexander Mogilny.”

It’s great to see Yzerman get into the Hall. He’s always been one of my favourite players and continues to be the epitome of class as the next stages of his career unfold. No other player was more revered in Hockeytown, with the exception of Gordie Howe, than Stevie Y. Drafted by Detroit in 1983, Yzerman ranks sixth in NHL scoring with an impressive total of 682 goals, 1,063 assists and 1,745 points through 22 seasons with the Red Wings.

The Golden Brett also more than deserves his spot this year. With 741 career goals, behind only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801), Hull was a dynamic forward with a deadly scoring touch. He once scored 86 goals in a National Hockey League season, a feat bested only by Gretzky’s 92 goal season. Hull will always be remembered for his incredible release and ability to one-time a sharp pass across the ice.

Brian Leetch, the first American-born MVP in the NHL, boasted skating skills and a combination of passing and scoring ability that few defencemen would be able to match. As one of the best defenders of the 90s, Leetch ranks fifth in scoring amongst defencemen with 247 goals and 781 assists for 1,028 points. While Yzerman will forever be identified with the Red Wings, Leetch will forever be a Blueshirt. He spent the majority of his 18-year career with the New York Rangers, helping them win a Cup in 1994.

Lucky Luc leads all left-wingers in the NHL in goals and points. He ranks 10th overall in goals with 668 and sits 19th in total points with 1,394. With three seasons of over 50 goals and four seasons with over 100 points, Robitaille will probably best be remembered for his years with the Los Angeles Kings but finally won a Stanley Cup alongside Yzerman in Detroit in 2002. Robitaille’s 19 seasons in the NHL included tenures in L.A., Pittsburgh, New York (Rangers) and Detroit. His #20 jersey was ultimately retired in L.A.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

We knew it was going to happen. A few days ago, we reported on Martin Brodeur’s 551st NHL win to tie Patrick Roy in the all-time wins category. And now, with Tuesday night’s 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Brodeur put his name in the record books as the NHL’s winningest goaltender.

“It’s unbelievable,” Brodeur said to a roaring crowd of 17,625 New Jersey Devils fans at the Prudential Center. “I’m so happy to be able to make this (record) come at home for our fans who have been great all year and throughout my career. This game is for you.”

The win was actually New Jersey’s 10th straight on home ice, marking an excellent achievement for the entire time at a critical point in the season.

Brodeur has allowed one goal or none in 329 games and has prevailed 238 times in one-goal contests throughout his career. He recorded his first National Hockey League win back in 1992 against the Boston Bruins. And by all accounts, it looks like Brodeur’s record is going to be a tough one to catch. The closest possible competitors are Curtis Joseph with 484 wins and Chris Osgood with 385. Unless Cujo has another considerable amount of NHL games left in the tank, I think Martin’s record is safe for quite some time.

“Martin Brodeur is the gold standard of goaltending — the model of character, consistency and commitment to the craft. A champion. A winner above all,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement released after the game. This is one of those really special moments that doesn’t come along often. Maybe once in a lifetime, maybe once in two lifetimes.”

So perhaps now the obvious question is this: is Martin Brodeur the greatest goaltender ever to stand between the pipes in the National Hockey League?

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

With last night’s win against the Montreal Canadiens, Martin Brodeur won his 551st game to tie Patrick Roy’s record.

The game in the Bell Centre featured a tremendous moment at puck drop, as Roy and Brodeur stood just several feet apart before being forever entwined in the record books of the National Hockey League. Indeed, the New Jersey Devils win by a score of 3-1 over the Habs seemed predestined by the hockey gods.

“I feel great. I’m definitely happy it’s over with,” Brodeur said. “The last couple days, especially coming into the Montreal, was hectic with press conferences and a lot of people, a lot of family around, but I didn’t disappoint anybody.”

Many are looking to Tuesday’s game when the Devils play the Chicago Blackhawks as the point at which Brodeur breaks the record.

Roy, meanwhile, was more than happy - at least on the outside - to be there for the moment. “I’m very happy to be here to see that moment. I think it’s great for the game of hockey,” he said.

And indeed it is.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Buffalo’s Drew Stafford celebrated a hat trick in a game against the Edmonton Oilers, scoring the first one just ten seconds into a matchup that the Oilers will be struggling to forget.

You see, Stafford’s hat trick might have been marked as a significant accomplishment in its own right. But it came on a night when the visiting Sabres absolutely annihilated the Oilers in a 10-2 beating that currently stands as the single worst loss on home ice in Edmonton Oilers history.

“It was a debacle of monumental proportions. There were plenty of areas of our game plan that could be criticized,” said Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish, leaving nothing to the imagination in his post-game comments. “The effort tonight, we were just chasing our tails all night. We’re not as masochistic as it may seem watching that game. We have to execute our game plan a whole lot better than we did,” he added.

And indeed, after watching the contest it might seen that the Oilers were feeling just a touch masochistic after the 10-2 loss. The performance, disappointing to say the least, marked the end of a three-game winning streak for the club and will certainly deflate some egos.

Perhaps tellingly, the 8 goal differential actually beat the previous record set in a 9-2 loss at home. That 9-2 loss was to Chicago…earlier this very season.

“We didn’t think that this could happen to us again,” said Steve Staios to reporters after the game. “Especially the way that we were playing of late. Hopefully the experience we have from trying to shake it off last time is the way to do it because we started playing better and got ourselves into a playoff position. You can’t sugarcoat how tough a night it was but we have to put this behind us quickly and move on.”

Even Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff knew what the story was. “It was one of those nights where we caught them flat,” he said. “I’ve been behind the bench on a team where you have a night like that and it’s tough. The harder they tried it seemed like the worse it was getting.”

Ain’t that the truth. The Oilers will need to turn things around quickly and forget this game ever happened. Are there lessons to learn from it? Sure. But a loss like this happens because a team just isn’t bringing it, plain and simple. There’s nothing particularly “off” in Edmonton and there’s no reason for the coaches and managers to start thinking about tinkering. Two losses of such magnitude in one season will certainly look bad in the record books, but the team can’t focus on those games.

Instead, one set of statistics stands out as more important right now: 24-20-3. The Oilers aren’t looking too bad currently overall, sitting in a 4-way tie in the Western Conference with 51 points (Vancouver, Columbus, and Minnesota also share the spot). Edmonton needs to pull it together, overcome the tough lost, and get back to holding that playoff spot. The game against Minnesota on Friday has special importance, as the Oilers will be able to prove they belong in the post-season with a win over their rivals.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.