With thanks to the Goalie Post.When will the great Martin Brodeur slow down? Approaching 37 years of age maybe Brodeur finally realized the stress of his weight, and off ice activities like trying to swap his wife for his sister in law were starting to slow him down.
Twelve straight seasons of 67+ starts, zero dips below the .906 SV% mark and only one of the last 12 seasons with a +2.50 GAA (2.56). The guy is amazing. When you take into account that he is not a butterfly goaltender relying on large equipment and positioning, it is downright incredible.
Sniffing Patrick Roy's win record and 100 career shutouts, Marty dropped close to 10 lbs over the summer. Maybe the humiliation by a guy who couldn't hold his jock (Sean Avery) forced him to take it off, who knows. All I know is that Brodeur has been tearing up his 16th season to the tune of four wins, a 1.56 GAA and a .931 SV%.
When all is said and done, Brodeur will deservedly have his place among the greatest goaltenders of all-time. Most people will place him above Patrick Roy, I am not one of those. Brodeur is the third best goaltender I have seen in my 30 years as a hockey fan, ranking behind only Roy and Hasek.
Roy because he excelled in an era where goaltenders looked like this. And later on in the 90's when they looked like this. Add in two of the most extaordinary Stanley Cup runs in the history of the NHL and he tops my list. Hasek dominated in the late 90s like no other goalie I have seen before. He was so dominant that he brought a bunch of trembling All-Stars to their knees in the 1998 Nagano shootout. Aim for the chest Shanny!! Why Gretzky did not shoot is another 10,000 word essay I don't even want to start.
No Conn Smythe's hurts Marty in my books. So he remains at number three.
On to tonight's games.
Florida Panthers @ Ottawa Senators
Craig Anderson gets the start against Darth Gerber tonight in Ottawa. You think guys like Gump Worsley
are turning in their graves with the thought that these two guys start games in the NHL? Bettman will not be happy until the league has 90 teams and there is an Andre Racicot on everybody's roster. Red Light, Red Light!!
The Marty Turco's @ The Marty Brodeur's
Turco vs Brodeur tonight. Like I needed to provide a link to prove Brodeur has the start. Here is hoping that Marty squashes superpest Avery tonight with his fat ass. Other than finding out that Elisha Cuthbert gave him crabs, nothing would make me happier than Marty knocking Avery out. Kind of like this time.
San Jose Sharks @ Philadelphia Flyers
Nabokov is the probable against Nittymaki. I would prefer the Flyers go with Biron as it is more likely to lead to a loss.
Edmonton Oilers @ Chicago Blackhawks
Dwayne Roloson to face Nikolai Khabibulin.
Detroit Red Wings @ St. Louis Blues
Ty Conklin gets the start for the Red Wings against former Wing Manny Legace. Well Detroit is screwed tonight, it is tough to win with your backup. Excuse me? What is that? They start a backup every night? Good point!
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