Martin Brodeur says he wants the chase to end quickly.
The future Hall of Famer wants to get the 14 wins he needed entering the new season to become the NHL's all-time winningest goalie out of the way so it doesn't become "a distraction" to his teammates.
After getting No. 539 in the books Friday night, Brodeur is expected to play again Saturday night when the 1-0 Devils open their 2008-09 road schedule with a game at Pittsburgh.
"Unless I tell you otherwise, expect the same," Devils coach Brent Sutter said after Friday night's 2-1 win.
Those words should not come as a surprise to anyone even remotely familiar with the workings of this team and its workhorse goaltender. After all, Brodeur started the last 41 games of the regular season and then the five playoff games last year.
"Hopefully, he can get there as quickly as possible," said teammate Patrik Elias. "That's the best for us. The more he gets, the better for the team."
There has, as always, been a lot of talk about how much Brodeur will play this year but there's no reason to believe Kevin Weekes will get anything more than occasional outings if Brodeur stays healthy.
Brodeur, 36, worked with a personal trainer and lost a few pounds in the offseason. He then joined his teammates for what he called "a great training camp" and did more work off the ice and in practice than in preseason games.
"It looks like he hasn't missed a beat," said Elias. "Nothing has changed. That's great for us."
DEVILS 2, ISLANDERS 1: We heard a lot about the Devils being more offensive in this new season, but the opener was a typical low-scoring game for this team.
Zach Parise and Patrik Elias scored, Martin Brodeur made 25 saves, one on a first-period penalty shot, and the Islanders clanged a couple off the iron in a 15-second span of the second period as the Devils beat a team that went 6-1-1 against them last year.
"It was a good effort," said Brodeur, who pointed out there were things that weren't quite right but adding that opening night jitters probably had a lot to do with it. "It was better by the end of the game," he said.
The Islanders scored first but Parise got that back on the power play, and Elias stuffed a puck home early in the second period to close the scoring for the night.
The only goal against Brodeur went in off the skate of defenseman Paul Martin.
The Islanders had chances late and Brodeur actually ended the last flurry when, without a stick, he picked the puck out of the air with his blocker.
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