Terry Sawchuk’s record lasted nearly 40 years and at the time of his retirement many experts believed it was untouchable.  However, in 1991 Martin Brodeur began his brilliant career and set out to break all major goaltending records.   Brodeur has stayed healthy throughout the majority of his career and has spent most of his years as part of a winning organization, which were key factors helping him break this record.  In addition to his shutout record, Brodeur also has the most career wins, most career playoff shutouts, most games played and most minutes played.

In today’s NHL, many teams utilize a two-goalie system where each goaltender plays a significant amount of games, which will make Brodeur’s records incredibly tough to surpass.  Roberto Luongo’s 56 shutouts are the second most among active goaltenders, but seeing as how he still sits 60 shutouts behind Brodeur’s 116, it appears as though Marty’s record should be safe for a significant period of time.

Here is Brodeur earning his 104th career shutout.

Notable Birthdays

Tom Henke, MLB – Born December 21st 1957 (age 54) in Kansas City, Missouri

LaTroy Hawkins, MLB – Born December 21st 1972 (age 39) in Gary, Indiana

Mike Alstott, NFL – Born December 21st 1973 (age 38) in Joliet, Illinois

Unfortunately for Marty, that save won’t be his only moment on this morning’s highlight reel, as he allowed five goals against, with three of them coming off the stick of Joffrey Lupul over a span of six minutes and 42 seconds.

We’ll save Brodeur the embarrassment of displaying his five goals against and stick with showing you only the save, which you can check out in the video below.

Brodeur was the busier of the two goalies, but he was also the sharper of the two as he stopped all 29 shots he faced on route to a 3-0 victory for his Devils.  It was only their second win of the season through their first seven games, but they are hoping that this victory will be the one that turns things around as they get set for two big games over the weekend against the Sabres and the Rangers.

For now, Brodeur and the Devils will get to enjoy this one.  It was not only Brodeur’s second win of the season, but it was also his second shutout, and this time it was enough to earn him “The Stat Line of the Night” for Thursday, October 21, 2010.

It isn’t everyday that we come across an amazing stick save, but last night’s NHL action provided us with two.

In the Blue Corner, we have four-time Vezina trophy winner, three-time Stanley Cup winner, and two-time Olympic gold medalist, from the New Jersey Devils, Martin Brodeur!

During a battle against their bitter rivals from Manhattan, Brodeur appeared to be down and out after Marian Gaborik delivered a perfect feed to Olli Jokinen early in the second period.  Thankfully, his stick made it over to the far post in time to prevent the Rangers from tying it at 2-2.  They eventually would, but the Devils would come out on top at the end by a score of 6-3.

And in the Red Corner, the former Calder winner with the Boston Bruins, now backup goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks, we have Andrew Raycroft!

With the scored tied 0-0 in the first few minutes of the game, before even getting warmed up, Raycroft had to make an unbelievable stick save to keep the game scoreless.  After making a save on the initial point shot, he turned what appeared to be a hopeless situation into one of this season’s wildest saves, twisting his body as he fell backwards to stop the Coyotes’ Lee Stempniak on the rebound.  Raycroft would eventually let in three goals over the course of the game (including one from Stempniak).  It was good enough to earn one point, but the Canucks would end up losing this game in a shootout.

So which is the better save?  Both displayed an incredible amount of athletic ability and awareness.  This is not an easy decision, but I think I’d have to go with Raycroft here.  That early in the game, on the road, and just when it appeared as though he couldn’t do anything else to stop Stempniak after stretching out his left pad, he gave himself one last chance and made it count (not that you can’t say the same for Brodeur).

This weeks honorable mention goes to Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers. Last week Carter potted 5 goals and added 3 assists for 8 points with 3 of those points coming on the power play. He also had a plus/minus rating of plus-5, zero penalty minutes, 25 shots on goal, won 41 faceoffs and had one game winning goal. Overall Jeff has had a disappointing season, however he’s been picking it up lately with 8 points in his last 5 games.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 16.

3rd Star – Sidney Crosby (C), Pittsburgh Penguins

Sid The Kid has been quietly putting together another great season, although it’s what’s expected of him so that might be why he’s done so without a lot of press. Last week Crosby scored 3 goals and had 5 assists for 8 points with 5 points coming while on the power play. He also had two minutes in penalties, a plus/minus rating of even(0), just 9 shots on goal and won 35 faceoffs. Athough he’s been playing great so far, expect a bit of a drop off after the Olympics as he will most likely be taking it easy for a handful of games to gear up for another long playoff run.

2nd Star – Tomas Vokoun (G), Florida Panthers

In what seems to be a repeating pattern, Tomas Vokoun had a rough start to the season but has turned it on in the last little bit and now sits second behind only Martin Brodeur for the league lead in shutouts with 6. Last week Tomas had two wins while posting a 0.49 GAA, .985 SAV%, made 131 saves and two shutouts. Vokoun tends to get overlooked because of the team he plays for but he’s a great goaltender and should be good for at least 25 wins a season even though he plays for Florida.

1st Star – Craig Anderson (G), Colorado Avalanche

For those of you holding your breath waiting for Craig Anderson to fall on his face, I’d suggest to give up and start breathing again because I looks like it won’t be happening. Last week Anderson collected 3 wins while posting a .033 GAA, .988 SAV%, made 80 saves and had two shutouts. It’s no secret that Craig has played amazingly well this year and is a big reason why the Avalanche are this year’s big surprise. Bravo if you were one of the lucky ones to have either drafted or claimed Mr.Anderson off of waivers at the beginning of the season.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 17.

The biggest loser in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Florida Panthers dropping a staggering 5 spots to end up at #28. After making a push for the playoffs last year people looked to the young Panthers team to get off to a decent start this season but so far they’ve disappointed and are running out of time to make up ground in the competitive Eastern Conference.

The biggest gainer in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins both climbing up 5 spots to land at #13 and #14 respectively. The Predators were a wild card coming into the season and so far they’ve solidified themselves as legit playoff contenders as they sit second in the central division. The Bruins on the other hand were expected to compete with Pittsburgh and Washington for top spot in the East but so far have disappointed but have shown signs in the last few games of turning things around.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for week 9.

Rank	Team	Record	PRV	Comment
1		18-6-4	-	Click Here to check out Rob Blake acting as a doctor for San Jose’s latest TV commercial.
2		18-9-0	-	Sidney Crosby finally got things going last week collecting 5 goals and 3 assists for 8 points, good enough to earn 1st Star honors.
3		15-5-6	-	Things should get interesting as the team will likely be without Alexander Ovechkin again either due to injury or suspension after his knee-on-knee hit to Tim Gleason.
4		17-6-1	3	Martin Brodeur‘s middle name must be Merlot because like a fine wine he appears to be getting better with age. Last week Brodeur posted a 0.97 GAA and .963 SAV% in his three victories which got him the 2nd star of the week honors.
5		16-6-3	1	Are on a nice little roll winning their last three games in a row.
6		16-6-3	1	Enjoyed finally having Marian Hossa in their lineup as he has two goals in his first three games as a Blackhawk.
7		14-8-5	1	Rookie Matt Duchene has started to become more comfortable in the NHL as he has three points in his last 5 games.
8		14-7-2	2	Have started to play some solid hockey again outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 9-3 in their last two wins.
9		15-11-1	2	Mikkel Boedker is making a case to stay with the big club as he has two points in his first two games since being recalled from the AHL on Friday.
10		15-10-2	3	Won two games last week and it appears that Ryan Smyth may be closer to returning than people thought.
11		13-10-1	2	Struggling as of late losing back-to-back games including a 1-0 loss to the Thrashers.
12		12-9-4	4	Riding a 5 game losing streak heading into week 10 and lost defenceman Rostislav Klesla to injury during their game against the Blues.
13		15-9-1	5	Unfortunately saw their 7 game winning streak come to an end but rebounded the next day with a solid 4-1 win over the Panthers.
14		13-8-5	5	Tough guy Milan Lucic just can’t stay healthy as the team has lost him for what appears to be another month after sustaining a high-ankle sprain against the Wild.
15		12-9-4	3	Were able to snap their three game losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win over the Blues.
16		13-12-1	2	Despite the Rangers up and down start Marian Gaborik has been consistently on fire since the first game of the season as he now has 37 points in 25 games.
17		13-7-4	2	Mike Fisher continues to carry a hot stick as he has 7 points in his last 5 games.
18		12-7-7	2	Good week for the Stars as they beat the Hurricanes 2-0 and the Lightning 4-3 in overtime.
19		13-7-3	3	Have been lead by talented young goaltender Ondrej Pavelec as he’s collected three wins and two shutouts in his last 5 games.
20		10-6-8	4	Despite getting some solid play out of guys like Steven Stamkos, Ryan Malone and Antero Niittymaki the Lightning have lost three of their last 5 games.
21		14-12-0	4	Kyle Wellwood finally scored his first goal of the season in the Canucks win over the Kings Thursday night.
22		12-12-2	2	Had a big win over the Blue Jackets that saw defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron score two goals.
23		10-10-7	2	Click Here to vote for the Islanders goal song. Make sure it’s a wise choice as with the young talented group of forwards they have on the island there’s a good chance you’ll be hearing it often.
24		10-11-4	3	Saw their three game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Coyotes Sunday night.
25		10-13-4	4	Things couldn’t get much worse for the Oilers right now as they’ve lost talented winger Ales Hemsky for the rest of the season and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin remains on the IR.
26		10-9-5	-	Click Here to check out David Perron‘s highlight reel goal that still has people talking about it in St.Louis.
27		10-12-3	1	Scored two big back-to-back wins over the Avalanche as the Wild appear to be heading in the right direction after a terrible start to the season.
28		10-11-4	5	Have lost their last 4 games in a row. If there’s a silver lining it’s Michael Frolik as the young forward has 5 points in his last 5 games.
29		6-11-7	1	Good week for both the Leafs and forward Niklas Hagman as he potted 5 goals which was good enough for him to earn 3rd star honors.
30		5-16-5	1	To try and put a positive spin on things we’ll give you a link for a nice little piece on Hurricanes promising prospect Drayson Bowman.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 10.

Total Pro Sports – With the start of the 2009-10 NHL Season upon us it’s time to take a look and see how each team stacks up. As per the norm, each preview will be broken down by division in order of how we think the team will finish.

Lets take a look at the Atlantic Division for the 2009-10 NHL Preview.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

Obviously not a big surprise here. As seems to be the trend, the Penguins did loose some players to free agency during the summer but they’ve managed to keep their core together which is huge.

Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin showed some nice chemistry playing together in last year’s playoffs and will look to continue that success for the 2009-10 season. Evgeni Malkin unfortunately lost his linemate in Petr Sykora to Minnesota, but Malkin is too good of a player to let that stop him from collecting 100+ points. Jordan Staal leads a group of players looking to provide some secondary scoring with Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot and Michael Rupp adding some sandpaper.

Defence is probably the one weak spot for the Penguins but when looking at their blueline it’s anything but. Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski supply the offence from the back end while Mark Eaton, Jay McKee and Brooks Orpik hold things down in the defensive end.

Marc-Andre Fleury showed in the playoffs that even though he may not be one of the top goaltenders in the league, he is capable of making the key save at the right time which is all Pittsburgh needs with their fire power. Despite some injury issues, Brent Johnson had a solid season with Washington last year and is a solid back-up.

2. Philadelphia Flyers

Bit of a disappointing season for the Flyers last year after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2007-08 season. However, like the Pens, Philly has managed to keep their core players and with the addition of Chris Pronger will be one of the harder teams to play against.

The great young duo of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter will look to lead the Flyers offence yet again this season. If Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne can stay healthy for longer than 40 games and Scott Hartnell can duplicate his 2008-09 campaign Philly could challenge the likes of Pittsburgh, Washington and Detroit as the league’s highest scoring team. Claude Giroux will look to build off a successful rookie season and highly touted prospect James Van Riemsdyk looks poised to make the opening day roster and possibly compete for the Calder Trophy.

The Flyers defence looks solid with Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle playing the point on the power play and also very capable in their own end. Ryan Parent, Braydon Coburn and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen are three big young defencemen that’ll bring a solid defensive presence.

As per the norm since Ron Hextall left, the Flyers goaltending is a big question mark. Ray Emery has looked good so far during preseason but it’s only preseason and a lot can happen between now and early/mid April. Brian Boucher played great for the Sharks last year but at 32-years old will probably start running into some injury problems.

3. New Jersey Devils

After a disappointing end to their 2008-09 season in the game 7 loss to Carolina, New Jersey will look to rebound with a solid 2009-10 campaign.

Zach Parise leads the Devils offence with another young player in Travis Zajac looking to improve off of a  great 2008-09 season. Brendan Shanahan, Patrik Elias Jamie Langenbrunner and Brian Rolston will look to help put the puck in the net as well but with Jacques Lemiare behind the bench, don’t look for it to happen as often as it did last year.

The Devils defence doesn’t stand out as great, but they do have some solid players and should end up working well together as a unit. Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya and Cory Murphy will be looked upon to supply a majority of the scoring from the point. Players such as Colin White, Mike Mottau and Bryce Salvador will be looked upon to keep things simple and play solid in their own end.

Martin Brodeur will look to build on what will be a Hall of Fame career and Yann Danis will have a great time watching from the bench. If Marty misses a handful of games due to injury like last year things could get interesting as they don’t have a guy like Scott Clemmensen currently in their system that’d be able to help bail them out.

4. New York Rangers

Unlike some people I actually like the look of the Rangers this year and think they have enough to finish ahead of the Devils and possibly compete with the Flyers for second in the division. However, the Atlantic is a very tough division so I have them in the four spot, but I expect them to make the playoffs.

Just like the past few years, the Rangers have a solid forward group heading into the season. However, there is one big question…can Marian Gaborik stay healthy? If he can, adding him to the likes of Chris Drury, Chris Higgins, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Vincent Prospal New York could surprise.

The biggest question mark has to be on defence. Wade Redden needs to step it up big time and Matt Gilroy will have to show why he won the 2009 Hobey Baker Award. Daniel Girardi, Michal Rozsival and Marc Staal are all good bets to have a solid 2009-10 season.

Henrik Lundqvist is one of the top goalies in the league and should have himself another 30+ win season. Steve Valiquette played well when relied upon last season and is one of the more underrated backups in the league.

5. New York Islanders

I don’t think I’m blowing anyone’s mind here with this pick. The Islanders have some decent young players coming up, but it’ll still be another 2-3 years before you can even think about the playoffs with this team.

As it looks right now the Islanders offence will live and die by John Tavares. Josh Bailey, Jesse Joensuu, Blake Comeau, Jeff Tambellini and Kyle Okposo make up a solid but inexperienced core of young players. Doug Weight, Richard Park and Trent Hunter will try to help the young players adjust to life in the NHL with their experience and leadership while also chipping in a few goals in the process.

With Brendan Witt, Mark Streit and Bruno Gervais the Islanders defence doesn’t look terrible. It doesn’t look great, but it isn’t horrible.

Goaltending is definitely New York’s strength for the 2009-10 season. With Garth Snow unconvinced about Rick DiPietro’s health he went out and signed both Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. Both upgrades over Yann Danis and Joey MacDonald from last year.

Now that this marks the official mid-way point of the playoffs, with a two day break to come we thought this would be a good time to bring you TPS’s version of the “Top 10 Things We’ve Learned From NHL Playoffs…Halfway 2 The Cup”:

10. Osgood is Still Good -With A 2.43 Goals Against Average in the second round, Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood may not have been “great”, but he sure was good enough.  Playing on a team with as much fire power as the Red Wings, all that is needed from Chris is a steady performance.  Expecting three goals a night is a reasonable task for the Detroit snipers, and as long as Osgood continues to be good and keep his GAA under 3.00, the Wings hopes of repeating as champions will remain alive and well.

9. Luongo and Brodeur’s performances will raise question marks - With the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver less than a year away, the debate on who will play for their respective countries has already begun.  Canadians love to play this game, and it has just got a lot more interesting.  The one position that seemed to be sorted out a month ago was between the pipes.  With Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur tabbed as one and two (not sure which order though), the only debate was over the number three spot.  How things have changed.  Brodeur allowed two goals in the final minute of game 7 against Carolina in the first round, and Luongo looked like a thin slice of swiss cheese every time Patrick Kane had the puck in Vancouver’s game 6 loss to Chicago.  Could this mean there is an opening for the likes of Cam Ward and Steve Mason?  To be continued.

8. Although seeded 8th, the Ducks are the West’s 2nd best team - After defeating the NHL’s top team in the San Jose Sharks in round one, the Ducks proved it was no fluck as they took the Red Wings to a game 7, which was tied late before Cleary’s controversial goal.  Their defense was among the best, along with Detroit and Chicago’s, and the top line of Perry-Getzlaf-Ryan will be a force for years to come.  If the team sticks together, expect them to be much improved in the 2009-2010 regular season. 

7. Speaking of Cam Ward, he gives Carolina a legit shot at winning the Cup-  He is once again making a name for himself as one of the most clutch goalies in the NHL.  Some may not remember in 2006 when he came in to replace Martin Gerber after the Canes feel into a 2-0 deficit against the Montreal Canadiens.  Ward would lead his team past the Habs and to the Cup that year, and it appears he looks poised to do the same this time around as well.

6.  Ovechkin is great, but Sid is even better- What a battle it was, and when the dust cleared, it was Sidney Crosby left standing.  This was one of the most remarkable series ever played in the NHL playoffs and both superstars (and let’s not forget Malkin) should be applauded for their strong play, but the winner is the one who guides their team on to the next round, and that was Crosby.  Some have argued before that Crosby has better players around him, but that is hardly true anymore.  Compare line-mates: Crosby with Guerin and Kunitz, or Ovechkin with Backstrom and Kozlov.  Tough, but I think I’d take the latter.

5. Hockey is alive in Chicago thanks to some kids - Playoff hockey is back in Chicago and they have a special crop of young talent to thank for that.  The likes of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook, among many others, are leading this surprising team into a date with the rival Detroit Red Wings.  In order for Chicago to take that next step towards building a champion, they have to show that they are the top team in the Central Division.  Their first chance begins on Sunday in Detroit.

4.  Detroit is 4 Lines Deep Up Front - At this point in the playoffs, it becomes necessary to use a complete bench as much as possible.  While their counterparts in the next series (Chicago) can utilize a strong four-line rotation, no one can do so like the Detroit Red Wings.  With a Samuelsson, Hudler, Filpulla, Draper, and Maltby floating around their bottom two lines, the Wings can threaten goalies for a full 60 minutes.  And lets not forget the speedy Darren Helm.  His goal on the breakaway was just a sign of things to come from this up and coming star.  On any other team in the league, he’s playing on the top two lines right now.

3.  Eric Staal vs Crosby may be able to duplicate Ovechkin vs Crosby - OK, so maybe this is asking for a bit too much, but don’t expect the battle between Eric Staal and Sidney Crosby be a slouch in comparison.  Stall has show that he can light the lamp in the playoffs, and he even did so up against the best defender in the NHL in Zdeno Chara. There are no Chara’s on Pittsburgh, but they have been playing a solid ‘team defense’, which somewhat slowed Ovie down later in their series with Washington.  What Eric will have to likely deal with is younger brother Jordan, who has become an effective shut down man.  For this series, Jordan Staal will be looking for his brother Eric to falter in favor of Crosby.  Wonder what Mark is thinking about all of this.

2. The Bulin Wall may have lost some bricks, but it’s still there - He may be shaky at times, but with his team scoring in the bunches, and showing resilience in their numerous comeback efforts, all that has been needed from Nikolai Khabibulin are some timely saves, and that he has provided.  The Chicago keeper out-dueled the NHL’s top goalie (according to most) in Roberto Luongo, and now he will have to be even better this round against the Red Wings.

1. If Hossa and Datsyuk start clicking, there may be no stopping the Wings - Every team always has a chance to win, especially when you have Crosby and Malkin, or a goalie like Cam Ward.  But the Wings have made it to this point beating a very strong Ducks team without the offensive help of superstars Marian Hossa and Pavel Datsyuk.  After 11 games, Hossa finds himself with 4 goals and Datsyuk with only 1.  Luckily Franzen continues to be a playoff scoring machine with 8 goals.  They have been playing solid hockey and have seen their chances come, but if Hossa and Datsyuk begin to find the net on a regular basis, there may be no stopping the Wings.  Although, I would assume Sidney Crosby has something to say about that.

Not only did the Devils lose the game in heart breaking fashion (losing with 2 seconds left), but in rare moment of frustration Brodeur had an on-ice temper tantrum.  Usually, he is one of the most laid back players on the ice who rarely lets his emotions get the better of him.

It was a big win for the Devils, but it was even bigger for Marty.  It was the 23rd playoff shutout of his career, which ties him with Patrick Roy for the most in postseason history.  He was also injured in the game when the back of his leg was sliced by a skate, but managed to finish the game.

This week’s honorable mention goes to Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes. Last week Shane collected 3 goals and added 4 assists for 7 points with 3 of those points coming on the power play. He also registered 13 shots on goal, a plus/minus rating of plus-3 and had 2 game winning goals as well. Doan may be frowned upon because he plays on Phoenix and thus it negatively affects his plus/minus stat. However, he’s a guy who’s consistently puts up 60+ points and 60+ penalty minutes each season and is a solid option for the RW position.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 24.

3rd Star – Martin Brodeur (G), New Jersey Devils

First we have to hand out a big congratulations to Martin Brodeur for surpassing the legendary Patrick Roy as the all-time wins leader. Last week Martin collected 2 wins while registering a 2.00 GAA, .938 SAV% and 1 shutout. Don’t let his age fool you, Brodeur still has a solid 3-4 years left in him and should continue to battle with Roberto Luongo and Evgeni Nabokov as the league’s top fantasy goaltender.

2nd Star – Slava Kozlov (LW), Atlanta Thrashers

Not a name you’d expect to see as Slava Kozlov has been quietly putting together a decent season in Atlanta. Last week Slava netted 3 goals and added 4 helpers for 7 points with 5 of those points coming while on the power play. He also registered 10 shots on goal, 2 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of even, and one game winning goal. Kozlov has been a decent option for the LW position the past few years but beware of his plus/minus stat as he plays for the not so defensively sound Thrashers and usually doesn’t collect enough penalty minutes to make up for it.

1st Star – Evgeni Malkin (C), Pittsburgh Penguins

Evgeni Malkin’s career year continues to roll on. Last week Evgeni potted 3 goals and had 5 assists for 8 points with 5 of those points coming while on the power play. He also registered just 7 shots on goal, 4 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-1 and one game winning goal. No matter how you look at it Malkin is a fantasy stud and has out performed his fellow teammate Sidney Crosby two years in a row now.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 25.