Devils’ Brodeur sets record for NHL shutouts

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Martin Brodeur broke the NHL record with his 104th career shutout, and maybe the only surprise was how easily it came against the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Brodeur needed to make only a few difficult saves while breaking Terry Sawchuk’s shutout record, further strengthening his case to be considered as the best goaltender to play the game, and the streaking New Jersey Devils had little trouble beating Pittsburgh 4-0 on Monday night.

Brodeur made 35 saves to break the coveted shutout record only two games after setting the NHL record for regular-season appearances by a goaltender. The shutout record came in his 1,032nd game over 16 seasons, all with the Devils.

Brodeur has long been compared to the game’s greats, and for obvious reasons — no other current-day goalie can begin to compare to the 37-year-old, who is the only active player in the top 22 on the shutout list. He has three shutouts this season and six in his career against Pittsburgh. He broke the record two weeks after beating Buffalo 3-0 on Dec. 7 to tie it.

Brodeur is the NHL’s winningest goalie with 580 wins, and he is 23-8-1 this season.

His latest shutout came only two days after he was pulled after the first period during a rare off night, the Devils’ 5-4 victory over Atlanta on Saturday during which he left after allowing three goals in the first.

Brodeur, as he so often does, made this one look easy as the Devils gave him plenty of support by taking a 1-0 lead in the first before scoring three times in the second to chase Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has been playing as well as any NHL goalie other than Brodeur with a 10-1-1 record and 1.80 goals-against average in 12 games, but he was yanked after allowing four goals on 16 goals.

Patrik Elias scored his fourth goal in five games and Dean McAmmond and Zach Parise had three assists each as the Devils won their fourth in a row to improve to an NHL-best 26-8-1. They won their fifth in a row, ninth in 10 games and 12th in 14, and are 27-9-1 in Pittsburgh since March 4, 1997.

Brodeur might be one of the few visiting players unhappy to see the cramped, aging Mellon Arena shut down after this season, given his 16-4 record there in his last 20 games.