• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Brodeur, Parise lead Devils to sixth straight win

Dec 1, 2007 - 4:28 AM By Joe Rizzo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- With plenty of help from Zach Parise, Martin Brodeur became the all-time shutout king as everyone back home in Montreal got to witness the feat.

Brodeur stopped 27 shots en route to his 116th overall shutout and Parise registered a natural hat trick as the New Jersey Devils on Friday posted a 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Parise added an assist and Brian Gionta scored a goal and set up another for the Devils, who extended their season-high winning streak to six games. It is the club's longest run since winning the final 11 contests of the 2005-06 campaign.

A Montreal native whose father, Denis, was the long-time photographer for the Canadiens, Brodeur was spectacular from the beginning as the Devils handed Montreal three power plays in the first period and registered 13 of the game's first 14 shots. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner stopped 16 shots in the opening session, five in the second and six in the third as he and New Jersey continued their dominance over the Canadiens.

By adding his 94th regular-season shutout to 22 carer postseason blankings, Brodeur snapped a tie with Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk, who had 103 and 12, respectively, for the most combined shutouts in NHL history.

Brodeur also pulled even with George Hainsworth for second place on the all-time regular-season shutout list.

"It's great to be around these big names in hockey, to be alongside them," Brodeur said. "Usually, everything counts more in the playoffs. For the league, it's the regular-season numbers that make the records. But the combined one is pretty cool."

Brodeur started against the Canadiens for the 38th straight time in the regular season, his longest such streak against any club. He has started all of New Jersey's games against Montreal since February 15, 1997, going 28-7-3 with eight shutouts while beating them for the ninth straight time Friday.

Brodeur is 9-0-1 in his last 10 home games against the Canadiens, although this was the first time he topped them at the Devils' new home, the Prudential Center.

"When your buddies are watching and they're rooting against you for one day, it's nice (to beat Montreal)," Brodeur said. "My family lives in Montreal. For me, it's home, and anybody who plays vs. his hometown team likes to do well."

"He always plays his best vs. Montreal," Parise said. "(His early stops) made a big difference for us. It could have been 2-0."

Parise provided more than enough offense for his netminder, tallying once in each period to push his team-leading total to 12. He has netted seven goals during New Jersey's winning streak, which started two games after veteran right wing Jamie Langenbrunner returned from groin surgery after missing the first 17 contests of the season.

"Zach and I get along very well, our lockers are right near each other," said Langenbrunner, who recorded two assists. "I try to keep him loose. He works so hard, and he deserves what he gets."

"Tonight, I did get the opportunity to get the third one," Parise said. "It's one of those nights. Sometimes you get the bounces, and sometimes you have a great game and have nothing to show for it."

Carey Price finished with 25 saves for Montreal, which lost for the fourth time in six games and was shut out for the second time in its last three. The rookie goaltender denied being worried about facing one of the league's all-time greats in Brodeur.

"I'm not concerned about what he's doing down there, I gotta worry about what I'm doing at my end," Price said. "I can't let anybody else determine what I do out there. They got a few bounces, and maybe we didn't. They got the puck on their stick looking at an open net a couple of times. That's part of the game."

Parise took advantage of a fumble at the right point by defenseman Patrice Brisebois to open the scoring with 35 seconds left in the first period. Once Brisebois mishandled the puck, Parise gobbled it up for a clean breakaway, deked Price and slid a backhander between his pads.

"I was anticipating the D-to-D pass," Parise said. "He bobbled it. I knew what I was going to do at the blue line, and I went five-hole."

The Devils gave Montreal its fourth power play midway through the second period, but Canadiens captain Saku Koivu negated the last 24 seconds of it with a goaltender interference penalty. Parise capitalized by depositing the rebound of Gionta's shot into the open left side of the net from the doorstep.

He completed his first career hat trick 6:22 into the third period with the Devils on a 5-on-3 power play following simultaneous high-sticking double-minors to Guillaume Latendresse and Kyle Chipchura, beating Price high to the glove side with a heavy wrist shot from the right faceoff dot.

"His third one, you can't teach that," Gionta said.

With New Jersey maintaining the two-man advantage, Parise's attempt at a fourth goal was thwarted by Price. But Gionta easily put in the rebound from the left side of the crease to provide the final margin.

"I have seen some weird things, but not that," Langenbrunner said of the pair of double-minors called against Montreal. "After we scored that first goal, we weren't sure (of what penalty expired)."