Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - Appropriately enough, Martin Brodeur posted win No. 551 of his illustrious career in Montreal on Saturday.
In his hometown, Brodeur notched the victory with a 22-save performance to help his Devils post a 3-1 win over the Canadiens and tie Patrick Roy, who tallied most of his wins with the Habs and was in attendance for the game, for first place all-time.
"I feel great, I'm definitely happy it's over with," said Brodeur. "Coming into Montreal it was hectic with family and press conferences and all."
As the horn sounded, his teammates flooded the ice to congratulate him and the fans at the Bell Centre gave him a standing ovation.
"Hockey is all about winning," said Brodeur. "You jump on to the ice as a group and the record says a lot about the guys I've played with and the organization I've been a part of."
It's been a difficult season for the 36-year-old Brodeur as he missed the bulk of the campaign recovering from elbow surgery performed in early November.
Since coming back on February 26, the four-time Vezina Trophy winner has been his usual impenetrable self, posting a record of 7-1-0 with two shutouts.
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In addition to the win record, Brodeur is sitting on 100 shutouts and is just three away from tying Terry Sawchuk in that category.
Another mark of Roy's that Brodeur is hoping to tie this year is a fourth Stanley Cup. Roy won twice with Montreal (1986, 1993) and twice with Colorado (1996, 2001) while Brodeur has captured all three of his with New Jersey in 1995, 2000 and 2003.
The Devils have been playing strong as of late and sit in first place in the Atlantic Division and second overall in the Eastern Conference. Brodeur will have his first shot at the wins record on Tuesday when the Devils host the Blackhawks.
