"On behalf of the entire Senate, we’re proud to honor Marty Brodeur as our ‘adopted son,’ said Senator Richard Codey. "He has kept Devils fans entertained for nearly 20 years and given our state something to be proud of. He’s a first-rate athlete who can now claim the distinction of being in a league of his own."

I can understand why he’s being recognized, of course.  The netminder now holds the record for most NHL wins after surpassing the legendary Patrick Roy.  He’s had an amazing career and I’m glad to see him getting the praise he deserves.

image: TSN

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With less than 10 seconds left in the tied game, Jussi Jokinen tried to take a shot on goal but the puck ended up circling around to Joni Pitkanen who passed it to Dennis Seidenberg, who then launched a hard blast from the point.  Jokinen was there to deflect it into the goal with two-tenths of a second remaining in the game.  The play immediately went to review which, I think, everyone expected.

As soon as it was ruled a goal, Devils goaltender, Martin Brodeur, freaked out.  Okay, to be fair, he started losing it the second the puck trickled past him but he managed to keep his composure.  The problem was that Brodeur had been bumped outside the crease by Jokinen right before the goal.  "’I had time to reset myself.’ That’s always the same answer. It doesn’t matter which referee," Brodeur said. "It’s the easy way out for them to say that. It’s hard. You want to play your game. You want to do what’s right and be in the best position you can. With these guys (Carolina), they go to the net. They play hard," he added. "I am not complaining about how Carolina is playing. They don’t take liberty. They’re pretty fair about it. They got to the net. The referee has to do their job. Today was pretty awful."

What does a Brodeur-style freak out look like?  Watch this video to see his reaction to the ruling on that final goal.

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image: Shops.NHL.com

The “Records” t-shirt is available from the NHL Shop and is made of cotton and has a comfortable crew neck collar. It’s the perfect shirt for fans who want to pay tribute to Brodeur and his history-making career.

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Image: TSN

The 3-2 victory came against the Chicago Blackhawks.  It was a relatively close game and, with just seconds left, Chicago forward, Troy Brouwer, actually took a shot on Marty but he spotted it and kicked out his right pad to deflect it.  It was his 30th save of the night.

“It was an exciting night,” Brodeur said. “I’m happy that it’s done and over with. It’s been chaotic, the last few days. It was an awesome night. It was a great reception from the fans.”

I laughed because you see guys keep jerseys, sticks or pucks from important games but Marty took out a pair of scissors and cut the net off.  “It’s definitely harder than I thought,” Brodeur quipped. “These basketball players, it’s only a little net. This was a big net. I had help from a couple of my teammates.”

Watch the winning moment and celebration here:

To date, Brodeur has played 987 games in 15 seasons (all with New Jersey) and has won four Vezina trophies, three Stanley Cups and a gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Now that he’s broken one record this season (and I’m so excited – I’ve been waiting since October for this!), he can focus on taking down Terry Sawchuck’s shutouts record.  He’s just three shutouts from tying so I hope he can do it.

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If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you’ll know that I was crushed when it was announced that Brodeur would be out of the lineup for months after having surgery to repair torn bicep muscles.  At the beginning of the season, I was excited by the idea that Brodeur could break some records and, hopefully, it’s still a possibility.

After tonight, Brodeur has 545 career wins and 99 shutouts which means he is just six wins and four shutouts away from tying the records set by Patrick Roy and Terry Sawchuck, respectively.  I’m hoping he can do it but, of course, it’s more important that he not push himself too hard.  Ultimately, making the playoffs (and staying healthy) is the most important at this point.

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"We do something pretty cool playing hockey, so I am excited every game to play," Brodeur said. "But definitely there is a little more emphasis on this. I have not played in a long time and I want to get out there and see how it goes."

"Until something is taken away from you, you don’t appreciate it," Brodeur said. "I think it (the injury) puts stuff in perspective. You sit back for so long and wait and look at people, and guys having fun and you’re like sitting there, and you’d like to have fun with them but you can’t. It’s tough because I never lived that before."

So, what did the 36-year-old netminder do while he was recovering?  He claims to have been watching tapes of potential upcoming opponents.  I guess when you’re out of the game, that’s the best way to see how teams have evolved in terms of how they play and maneuver. 

Brodeur is just seven wins shy of Patrick Roy’s NHL record (Brodeur has 554 career wins) so hopefully he can break the record. 

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Of the practice that lasted about 20 minutes, Brodeur said "I wasn’t nervous.  I was anxious to get going and see the shots and the speed of the guys. It’s different than drills when guys are coming at high pace."

I’m hoping this means that Marty will be back in the game before the end of the month.

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I was absolutely crushed when, after having such a great start to the season, Brodeur needed surgery to repair the injury.  

Fortunately, the Devils did not fall apart in his absence.  They currently have a record of 29-15-3 in 47 games.

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So, with the addition of defenseman, Paul Martin (upper back soreness), the Devils have 6 men on the IR list. 

He joins goalie Martin Brodeur (surgery on biceps), centers Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik, winger Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond and defenseman Andy Greene.

Not good….

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