It was a pivotal moment in his career, Martin Brodeur said, and not because it was such a gut-check. It came in the lead-up to the legendary semifinal series when the Devils blew a 3-2 series lead to the Rangers, gave up Mark Messier’s called shots, and then were eliminated — instead of going to the 1994 finals as the favorites — on the wraparound that made “Matteau, Matteau,” famous.
Brodeur said that unforgettable series already had changed that Rookie of the Year into the goalie he is today, the one who is closing in on the hat trick of major career goaltending records.
“My first year, not against everybody, but I had games I was getting more excited about, and you could tell,” Brodeur said. “I never finished a game against the Rangers. Everybody was pumping up the games against the Rangers and in six of them I got pulled. Not that I was playing bad, because Jacques [Lemaire] used to pull me at any time. It didn’t matter.
Brodeur needs one shutout to break Terry Sawchuk’s 39-year record of 103, tied Monday in Buffalo, his next chance tomorrow when Florida visits Newark. He went 26 minutes before being scored upon in last night’s 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes in Newark.
“When I got to the playoffs against them, with [goalie coach] Jacques [Caron], we talked about my game, and how come it’s so different playing certain teams from playing others. So we looked at it, tried to stay more in control, relax a little more and not get caught up in the fans and the momentum. And we did really well in the playoffs, even though we lost in seven.
“For me, it was learning to play with that emotion. Against other teams, I was OK, but whenever the stakes were high, excitement was bringing my game to a different level. So I took a step back.”
He didn’t look back. The Devils won their first of three Cups the next year, while the Rangers haven’t won again since 1994. Brodeur has since piled up four Vezina Trophies and broken records galore.
Already the winningest goalie in NHL history, and just four appearances from breaking Patrick Roy’s record of 1,029 games played, Brodeur owns enough credentials to be called the best-ever goalie.
“Best-ever, you can’t justify it for anybody,” Brodeur said. “Eras are different, situations, who you play for. You’re talking about numbers, now. And if you can reach it, you might as well climb up to the top. Everybody that plays a sport, if they’re competitive enough, they’ll reach for that goal, to be as good as you can be for as long as you can be.
“When that number was reachable, it was a goal of mine, not necessarily something I couldn’t live without, but it was there. So I might as well try to achieve it.”
Lemaire, a Hall of Famer who played with and against some greats, said picking a best-ever player is a futile task.
“Is it Mario Lemieux, [Wayne] Gretzky, is it [Bobby] Orr, is it [Jean] Beliveau, is it Gordie Howe? They were all great. Who’s the best? You would have to play one against the other at the same time,” Lemaire said.
Brodeur picked up his first shutout of the season, 2-0, against Carolina in Newark on Oct. 17. He tied Sawchuk’s record with a 3-0 triumph in Buffalo Monday, his second shutout of the season.
Sawchuk has held the record more than 45 years, since passing Montreal’s George Hainsworth on Jan. 18, 1965 with his 95th. Sawchuk posted his last shutout, his 103rd as a Ranger on Feb. 1, 1970, and died mysteriously later that year. No one else came closer than the 84 of Glenn Hall.