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Brodeur continues dominance of Islanders

Feb 18, 2007 - 4:29 AM UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- In a fight-filled affair, the New York Islanders again had no punch against Martin Brodeur.

Brodeur stopped 26 shots to shut out the Islanders for the third time this season and John Madden and Sergei Brylin scored to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 2-0 victory.

With the triumph, the Devils extended their winning streak against the Islanders to five games. New York has failed to score in three of those contests thanks to Brodeur, who recorded his league-leading 11th shutout of the season.

"Last (season) in December, I never thought I would get another one," the All-Star netminder said. "But you don't do it yourself, you do it within the system."

Brodeur again was the beneficiary of a system that stresses defense first. He registered his 91st career blanking by stopping seven shots in the first period, nine in the second and 10 in the third.

"Beating Marty, even with a perfect play, sometimes isn't good enough," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "They get in front and block shots. It's frustrating, but you have to find a way."

Brodeur, who has allowed nine goals in six meetings with the Islanders this campaign, climbed within three shutouts of Hall of Famer George Hainsworth for second place on the all-time list.

"It's overwhelming to look at some of the numbers," said Brodeur, who 12 shutouts behind Terry Sawchuk for first in NHL history.

The Islanders have lost just twice in regulation since the All-Star break, with both setbacks coming against the Devils. Saturday's contest was a heated one, featuring 50 minutes in penalties - including three fights.

"It was physical, with plenty of rushes," Devils center Scott Gomez said. "The fans enjoyed it."

New Jersey's Cam Janssen and New York's Arron Asham dropped the gloves just 3:12 into the contest, and Mike Rupp of the Devils and defenseman Drew Fata of the Islanders battled midway through the second. Enforcer Chris Simon and New Jersey blue-liner Mark Fraser capped the slugfest with a tussle less than four minutes later.

Madden again wore a college-style mask after being hit in the face with a deflected puck in Sunday's loss to Tampa Bay. The equipment obviously did not bother him as he took away the puck from defenseman Sean Hill in the neutral zone and dished to Erik Rasmussen before converting Jay Pandolfo's cross-ice pass from the bottom of the slot with 5:39 left in the first period for a 1-0 lead.

"We were trying to get a turnover," Madden said. "Hill tried to make a pass and, with the ice being the way it was, it went over his stick and we capitalized."

New Jersey controlled the opening session, outshooting the Islanders, 15-7, and recording seven of the game's first eight shots.

The Islanders had an excellent scoring chance in the first, but Randy Robitaille failed to convert after being left alone in front of the net following a defensive lapse.

Asham unleashed a shot in the second period that went off Brodeur's glove and hit the goalpost. New York was unable to cash in on four power-play chances, failing to record a shot during one opportunity in the third.

"We had our chances, but our power play generated nothing," Islanders center Mike Sillinger said.

"These guys are professional athletes," Nolan added. "You have to find a way to get a shot on goal."

Brylin made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 12:26 of the second, burying his own rebound from the right side of the net after receiving a pass from captain Patrik Elias.

Rick DiPietro made 28 saves for the Islanders, who fell to 1-1-0 on their second seven-game homestand of the season. New York went 4-1-2 from October 14-31 at Nassau Coliseum.

Pandolfo recorded his 99th career assist for New Jersey, which extended its winning streak against New York to five games.

The Devils again played without defenseman Colin White and Brian Gionta, who are suffering from hand and groin injuries, respectively.