Bernie Parent has some company now.
Brodeur is one win away from breaking the 33 year old record set by Parent.
Martin Brodeur made 22 saves and John Madden nailed the game winner in the shootout giving the Devils a critical 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. This was a game the Devils had to have. Brodeur was solid in this one and made some outstanding saves. Really he had 23 saves but a shot in the first that the official scorekeeper thought hit the post….was later shown to have been stopped by Brodeur. The save looked very much like the one he made in the 95 finals against Draper. Here is a man who is on the verge of breaking Bernie Parent’s record and there he is joking with the ref during a commercial break. Then he just snaps back into focus like its nothing.
People will now say…well okay…this is in the shootout era…..47 wins just isn’t the same. Well players can’t control what the rules committee does. They just simply play the game and this year Brodeur has had a bounce back season. He had a bad 3 1/2 week stretch in March but in the last 10 days he has bounced back in typical Martin fashion. Winning five of his last six has pushed him to this total. In a lot of ways, playing at Philly Thursday is very appropiate….I wonder if Bernie Parent will be in attendance. The man is a class act and a model for what every French-Canadian goaltender should be.
Now the full numbers….Brodeur has a 47-23-7 mark with a 2.19 GAA and .922 sv percentage. That is some pretty damn good stuff given the East has scored more goals than the West. Yes…8 of the top 10 candidates for the Jennings Trophy (lowest teams goals against) are in the West. However, the Devils admittedly do not have the greatest defense in the world…and yet Marty and the Devils are on the verge of another division title.
So is Marty tired?? I admit I wondered aloud if he was a couple weeks ago…but now you would never know it. Maybe he was pressing and trying to do too much. Now the game seems easier again like it was in the middle portion of the season. Hell, I even thought he was hurt…maybe he was but Brodeur would never say it….he’d just give a wink and a smile and play thru it. He is a hybrid goalie…..plays mostly stand-up even if he acts like a stand up comic at times on and off the ice.
I taped the show on Versus….USA Today’s The Drive of A Champion. Watch the show on Brodeur and that is all you need to know about the goalie…or read his book. Yes he has an ego….he may play a little too much but honestly, he is a player I enjoy watching night in and night out. When the defense breaks down and he makes a great save…I wonder if he hears the “Thanks Marty” from section 216 (where I used to sit). Marty and Bernie are together and Roberto (who nabbed win 46 tonight) may join him soon. However, like the IMUS bit with him doing Manuel Noriega…..Brodeur is still the bleepin boss and now on the verge of a record I never thought would be broken….simply amazing!!
