Martin Brodeur continues to add to his winning record, and to his wallet, as he earned another $20,000 in his 690th NHL victory tonight.
Brodeur earned this victory, as he stopped 32-of-34 shots in the Blues 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
The Blues started the game dominating pick control. They out shot the Panthers 11-8, but they also hit two posts, one by Patrik Berglund, one by Jaden Schwartz. They got goals by Maxim Lapierre and Ian Cole.
They did lose David Backes early, as a T.J. Oshie shot was deflected into the face of the Blues captain. He played just under five minutes in the game, including four shifts in the second period. He returned in the second period wearing a cage, but eventually returned to the locker room, and missed the entire third period.
Nick Bjugstad scored the only goal in the second period, beating Brodeur glove side with just over four minutes remaining in the second period.
Brodeur kept the Blues lead, despite the Panthers out shooting them 18-7 in the second period.
Panthers defensemen Aaron Ekblad would tie the game in the third. Oshie gave Kevin Shattenkirk his stick, after the Blues defensemen broke his, and Oshie skated to the bench for a new twig, Ekblad skated into the open ice and scored.
The tire didn't last long, as just four minutes later, Chris Porter would score his first goal of the season, deflecting a Barret Jackman point shot past Roberto Luongo to make it 3-2.
Paul Stastny would pot an empty net goal to give the Blues a 4-2 lead, which would eventually be the final.
Now let's talk about Marty Brodeur for a minute. I said before the game, the if the Blues won tonight, regardless of how Marty performed, I would bet that Ken Hitchcock would will start Brodeur the next game.
Well, the Blues won, and I still bet Brodeur starts against the New York Islanders in Thursday. But that is because he deserves to.start.
Yes, the Blues hit four posts tonight (Berglund, Schwartz, Alex Pietrangelo, and Vladimir Tarasenko), but the defensive breakdowns in the second and third periods could have cost them the game. They didn't, and that is because of Martin Brodeur.
The Blues are starting to get more offensive production, even from the players you don't expect to see score. But the defensive play has continued to be a disappointment.
One player who has looked extremely shaker with the puck in the defensive end is T.J. Oshie. Poor decisions with and without the puck in the Blues zone has cost the team a few goals lately.
Meanwhile, Joakim Lindstrom has been a bright spot defensively, especially in the last two games.
Its nice to see the offense start to pick up, but the players need to improve in the defensive zone.