NEWARK, N.J. — Martin Brodeur
reached another milestone, and the New Jersey Devils kept rolling at
the expense of the Montreal Canadiens.
Brodeur tied Patrick Roy's NHL record
for regular-season appearances by a goalie, and Patrik Elias scored the
winner with 2:36 left in the Devils' 2-1 victory over the Canadiens on
Wednesday night.
Brodeur played his 1,029th game, all
with New Jersey in his 16-year career. Roy played for Montreal and
Colorado in his 18-year career.
"It's durability," Brodeur said.
"That's what playing a lot of games is. It's being durable, and it's
being successful, because if you're not, the coach doesn't put you in
there."
It marked the second time in two
seasons that Brodeur equaled one of Roy's records against Montreal.
Brodeur tied Roy for career wins last March, getting his 551st in the
Bell Centre. Brodeur has pushed that total to 578.
The game had a familiar feel, like
many of the games Brodeur played over the years with tight checking and
few opportunities for either side.
"It was kind of boring, but it was a
big win," Brodeur said. "We were playing a team is not doing really
well right now so they are trying to keep it simple. They really didn't
do much out there and they didn't give us many opportunities."
Illka Pikkarainen also scored to help
the Devils beat Montreal for the fifth straight time. Travis Moen
scored for Montreal. The Canadiens have lost four straight, all by one
goal.
"We've got to keep improving," Montreal coach Jacques Martin said. "You hope to learn some lessons from them."
On the winning goal, Brian Rolston
fired a shot that Elias directed toward Carey Price. Elias continued to
the net and knocked in his own rebound.
"I know they go to the net hard,"
Price said. "He got some wood on it as the shot came towards me. I just
tried to steer it into the corner. Good teams get to net to score goals
and that's what Elias did."
The Devils had four power plays to
none for the Canadiens in the first period. Despite the disadvantage,
Montreal came out of the period with a 1-0 lead thanks to Moen's
short-handed goal.
Devils defenseman Andy Greene,
manning the right point, sent a cross-ice pass to Jamie Langenbrunner
who attempted a return feed. Langenbrunner flubbed the puck and Moen
pounced, skating three zones to deposit a backhander behind Brodeur for
an unassisted goal at 12:23.
The Devils' fourth line came up with the equalizer when Pikkarainen scored at 16:25 of the second.
Pikkarainen, a 28-year-old from
Finland playing his first NHL season, got his first goal on a rising
shot that Price tried to snare with his glove. Price lost sight of the
puck after it ticked off his mitt and landed in the crease. Price
actually knocked it into the cage with a skate as he backed into net.
"I saw the shot coming and I reached
above my head to try and glove it down," Price said. "I guess I batted
it down right behind me. I thought it was still up in the air, so I
started backing up. I guess I kicked it in."
There were few chances through two periods in the tight-checking contest with the Devils holding a 17-15 edge in shots.
Notes
Brodeur made his 11th
consecutive start. Including a relief appearance, Brodeur has played
in 18 straight. … Former Devils forward Scott Gomez was booed every
time he touched the puck. The Devils did not face another former
teammate Brian Gionta, who remains sidelined by a broken foot. Gionta
left New Jersey over the summer, signing five-year free-agent contract
with Montreal.