Martin Brodeur broke the NHL record with his 104th career shutout, and maybe the only surprise was how easily it came in the New Jersey Devils 4-0 win over the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins Monday night. Brodeur needed to make only a few difficult saves while breaking Terry Sawchuk's shutout record, further strengthening his case to be considered as the best goaltender to play the game. Brodeur made 35 saves to break the coveted shutout record only two games after setting another NHL mark. He surpassed Patrick Roy's record for regular-season appearances by a goaltender when he started his 1,030th Friday, and Monday was his 1,032nd game in 16 seasons, all with the Devils. Avalanche 4, Wild 3: At St. Paul, Matt Hendricks scored short-handed to cap a three-goal second period for Colorado, which beat Minnesota for the first time in five tries this season. Matt Duchene, Chris Stewart and Milan Hejduk also had goals for the Avs, who took advantage of uncharacteristic sloppiness by Niklas Backstrom and the Wild and beat Minnesota in regulation for only the second time in the past 16 regular-season matchups between these Northwest Division opponents. Owen Nolan and Martin Havlat scored less than two minutes apart midway through the third period, with Havlat's breakaway cutting the once-wide lead to one with 6:03 left. Craig Anderson faced a flurry of shots, including a bad bounce off the board that almost caught him out of position, in the final minutes but finished with 28 saves. Canadiens 4, Thrashers 3, OT: At Atlanta, Marc-Andre Bergeron scored late in the third period to equalize, then again in overtime for Montreal. The Canadiens won back-to-back after losing five in a row at home. Bergeron also scored on a power play with 1:45 left in regulation and beat Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg after passes from Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov. Nik Antropov and Rich Peverley scored in the third period to put the Thrashers up 3-2. The Thrashers set a team record with 50 shots, more than double Montreal's 23. Lightning 4, Islanders 2: At Uniondale, Ryan Malone scored two power-play goals in the third period as Tampa Bay rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits. Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier added second-period goals for the Lightning. Stamkos, the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft, has 21 goals this season. He scored for the fourth time in four games after going eight games without one. Mike Smith made 36 saves for his sixth win. Rangers 3, Hurricanes 1: At Raleigh, New York won its third straight behind Marian Gaborik's NHL-leading 25th goal. Gaborik added an assist to increase his point total to 47, Brandon Dubinsky scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots and Marc Staal scored into an empty net for the Rangers. In other games it was: Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 2, OT; Panthers 4, Flyers 1; Bruins 2, Senators 0.
