Martin Brodeur sets another record

[Unthinkable]

http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2JmZnYmVs N2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MzM5NjY1

First goalie to post eight straight 30-win seasons
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Monday, February 10, 2003

By TOM GULITTI
Staff Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD - Martin Brodeur decided long ago not to worry about things he can't control - such as the voting for the Vezina Trophy or even the Hart.

The Devils' goaltender focuses instead on things he can have a direct hand in - such as stopping pucks and winning games and Stanley Cups. So, Brodeur is leaving it to others to decide what reaching 30 wins for the eighth consecutive season does for his Vezina chances.

Brodeur accomplished the feat Sunday afternoon when the Devils defeated the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, at Continental Arena.

No goaltender in NHL history has achieved that level of consistency. Only two others won 30 games seven years in a row: Tony Esposito (1969-70 to 1975-76) and Patrick Roy (1995-96-current). And Roy is going to be hard-pressed to get his eighth in a row this season. He had 18 wins entering Sunday's game against Calgary.

"It's good that it's out of the way," said Brodeur (30-15-3), who leads the league in wins. "Definitely, it's a good accomplishment. I'm pretty excited about it. It shows how consistent the team has been."
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MR. CONSISTENT

Of all Martin Brodeur's feats, becoming the first goalie with eight straight 30-win seasons is one the most impressive. Here's how other great goalies stack up:

Goalie Consecutive seasons

Martin Brodeur 8, 1995-96 to present

Patrick Roy 7, 1995-96 to present*

Tony Esposito 7, 1969-70 to 1975-76

Other notables

Jacques Plante 6, 1954-55 to 1959-60

Terry Sawchuk 5, 1950-51 to 1954-55

Ken Dryden 5, 1974-75 to 1978-79

Bernie Parent 3, 1972-73 to 1974-75

Dominik Hasek 3, 1996-97 to 1998-99

Glenn Hall 3, 1961-62 to 1963-64

Grant Fuhr 2, 1995-96 to 1996-97

Billy Smith 1, 1981-82

* Has 18 wins entering Sunday night's game

http://www.nj.com/devils/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1044862222103150.xml

Devils: Brodeur in a league of his own

Monday, February 10, 2003

BY RICH CHERE
Star-Ledger Staff

Jacques Lemaire has watched Martin Brodeur since before he became the Devils' No. 1 goaltender during the 1993-94 season. It was Lemaire, then working in the Montreal Canadiens' system, who drafted Brodeur as a teenage prospect in Quebec Major Junior League back in the late 1980s.

So it carried some weight when Lemaire predicted yesterday that Brodeur would finally win his first Vezina Trophy this season.

"Oh, yeah," said Lemaire, now coach of the Minnesota Wild. "He has been great. In the past, he had some great competition and maybe people said it was more the Devils defense than Marty, that the guys stayed back and helped the goalie. But I don't think that's true. He has the final answer."

Brodeur improved his Vezina case yesterday when he became the first goalie in NHL history to post eight straight 30-victory seasons with a 3-2 triumph over the Wild at Continental Airlines Arena.

"It's good that that's out of the way," Brodeur said after stopping 19 of 21 shots. "It's definitely a good accomplishment. I'm excited about it. It shows how consistent this team is. It's still going, so hopefully I'll be able to add onto this. When you're the only guy who has done it, it's got to mean something."
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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/story/58493p-54792c.html

Brodeur nets milestone
as Devils escape Wild

By DARREN EVERSON
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Another Martin Brodeur interview about yet another personal achievement was underway when Joe Nieuwendyk rudely (and playfully) butted in.

"What were you thinking on that second goal?" he said.

Every now and then the Devils' star goaltender makes a mistake, such as in yesterday's third period against the Minnesota Wild. After Nieuwendyk lost a faceoff in the Devils' zone, Nick Schultz launched a shot that Brodeur gloved but dropped, creating a fat rebound for Pascal Dupuis and a one-goal game.

So he's human. But when it comes to winning games, Brodeur is a machine, one of the most productive the league has ever seen.

Brodeur became the first goalie in NHL history to record eight straight 30-win seasons as the Devils held on to beat Jacques Lemaire's upstart Wild, 3-2, in a matinee at the Meadowlands.
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BRODEUR NETS 30TH AS DEVILS ICE WILD
By MARK EVERSON

February 10, 2003 -- The NHL's GMs could prove they aren't utterly clueless, that they actually know something about hockey.

Come April, the braintrust could finally vote Martin Brodeur his first Vezina Trophy.

Perhaps the strongest indictment of their brilliance is that in his nine previous seasons, Brodeur has been runner-up only twice, despite the fact that he has won far more games (352) than any other goalie since 1993-94, when he broke into the league for good.

Brodeur today stands as the only goalie in NHL history to post eight straight 30-victory seasons, breaking the record with a 3-2 triumph over the Wild at the Meadowlands yesterday.

Should he win 10 of the Devils' final 28, and he's on pace to win 15 of those, he'll be the only goalie to record four 40-victory seasons.
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http://www.nypost.com/photos/web02100381.jpg http://www.nypost.com/sports/devils/54291.htm

[John Corn]

No doubt about it. If Brodeur does not win it after the year he is having, the trophy itself means nothing.

Here's an article about the Devils in general, but it does talk about Brodeur. This is from the Washington Times:



Devils gain titles but not acclaim

David Elfin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published February 6, 2003


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If a team can be faceless while collecting championships in the world's biggest media market, it's the New Jersey Devils. Despite winning Stanley Cups in 1995 and 2000, coming within a game of doing it again in 2001 and leading the Eastern Conference standings this season, the Devils might as well have been playing across the street at the International Spy Museum as at MCI Center.

Defenseman Scott Stevens described it perfectly.

"We have the lowest goals-against in the league [1.86] and the best penalty-killing [88.1 percent], but at the All-Star Game last weekend, I'm reading an article about Selke Trophy [best defensive forward] candidates and there was no one from our team," said Stevens, who noted that 2001 Selke winner John Madden and 2000 Calder Trophy [top rookie] winner Scott Gomez are the only Devils to have been honored for their regular-season on-ice accomplishments since 1994. "That's just not realistic."

Most glaringly, Martin Brodeur has never won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie despite a post-World War II-low 2.19 GAA (1.89 this season).

That lack of attention is a fact of life for the Devils, who remain overshadowed by their archrivals across the Hudson River although they have been the East's top team for a decade while the big-spending New York Rangers haven't even made the playoffs since 1997.

"We don't have a guy who scores 40 goals or 100 points," Stevens said. "We've got so much depth, so many good players that individual acclaim can get lost."

No team has a top goal-scorer with fewer goals and only five teams have less effective power plays, but none can match New Jersey's balance or responsibility. Eight Devils have between 24 and 38 points, and six have between 10 and 15 goals. And eight Devils have defensive ratings of plus-10 or better compared to two for the Capitals, another division leader.

Last night's 4-1 victory over the Caps extended New Jersey's streak to 14 games without a regulation loss (12-0-1-1). The Devils have even been scoring during their tear, averaging 3.5 goals, but they have yet to sell out any of their 27 home dates.

Perhaps New Jersey's usual spring success made last season's surprising first-round loss to Carolina even more dispiriting for fans. But veteran center Joe Nieuwendyk, who arrived in a trade with Dallas last March 19, said the early exit was therapeutic.

"You always want to win, but after playing a lot of hockey the two previous years, it was good to get a breather," Nieuwendyk said.

Left wing Patrik Elias, the top scorer on the champions in 2000 and the runners-up in 2001, said the elimination by the Hurricanes also served as motivation.

"We needed some new guys, some new desire," said Elias, one of 13 Devils to skate with Lord Stanley's hardware.

Two-way left wing Jeff Friesen, acquired from Anaheim for Elias' offensive-minded ex-linemate, Petr Sykora, in July has brought some of that enthusiasm for a Cup after not getting past the second round in eight years with the Mighty Ducks and San Jose Sharks. So has new bench boss Pat Burns, who never reached the finals in 12 seasons with Montreal, Toronto and Boston despite winning three Jack Adams trophies as the NHL's top coach.

The Devils have the defense, the experience, the balance and seemingly the right attitude to win another title, but even general manager Lou Lamoriello has said his team is short a big scorer or two. However, Elias is content to sit pat.

"Our goaltending has been outstanding, we're playing good defensive hockey and we're scoring goals at the right time," Elias said. "I wasn't here in 1995, but that's how this team won the Cup that year. I think we can do it again."

[Unthinkable]

The Washington Times article is spot on and a better piece of journalism then a lot of the local Jersey beat writers offer up on a day to day basis.