When he was in the prime of his career, the Devils scoring three goals with Martin Brodeur in net would almost surely result in a win. But the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer, whose career could end after this season, was unable to make two one-goal leads stand up Friday night in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Of the three goals Brodeur allowed in regulation, two were through his five-hole, with the other finding its way over his stacked pads on a Michael Grabner breakaway.
“I’d like to get one goal back. I think I made the right decision on the first goal, I was just unlucky and the puck kind of snuck through my pad there,” Brodeur said. “Apart from that, I made the saves that were important in the hockey game.
“It’s amazing how many breakaways that guy gets,” Brodeur added referring to Grabner who had four shots, three on beak aways.
Starting in his NHL-record 19th consecutive home opener, a streak that began in 1993, Brodeur looked shaky in the first period, but kept the Devils in the game in the third period and the shootout with 10 saves and five more in the shootout. Head coach Pete DeBoer wasn’t blaming the loss on his goalie.
“He gave us a chance to win,” DeBoer said. “He found another level there in the third period to let us hang around and give us a chance. Stopped five of six in the shootout. He’s doing everything he can to try and get two points.”
The question now will be how many games will Brodeur start this season, after the Devils acquired Cory Schneider from the Canucks in the offseason. Schneider started the Devils’ first game, a 3-0 loss to the Penguins on Thursday, and could end up playing more games than Brodeur, something that hasn’t happened in Brodeur’s entire career. He has the most wins in NHL history, owns numerous other records, and will be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame when he is eligible.
But Brodeur saw the positives in the game, despite not getting the two points.
“It’s a big point. We’ve got to start somewhere,” he said. “Shuffling a little bit in the shootout. New faces after new faces. It’s going to take time a little bit. We need to give ourselves a little time here.”