New Jersey Devils: 5 Best All-Star Performances In Franchise History
By Nick Villano
1. Martin Brodeur – 1996 NHL All-Star Game
It was always going to be a Martin Brodeur performance that led this list. The All-Star Game isn’t known for big performances by goalies. Martin Brodeur has had his stinkers in the All-Star Game, but there were also a few where he looked really good. He had none better than the 1996 All-Star Game.
Brodeur was given the start in 1996 on a team with Dominik Hasek and John Vanbiesbrouck. He allowed zero goals in the first period despite facing 12 shots from All-Stars. He gave the Eastern Conference a 2-0 lead when Vanbiesbrouck took over in the second period. He allowed three goals to the Western Conference, but Ray Bourque scored with 38 seconds left in the game to give the East the win.
It’s incredibly rare for any team to be completely kept off the score sheet in the All-Star Game. The defense is going half speed, they aren’t hitting or blocking shots, and the stars are allowed to be stars. Despite that, Brodeur was a brick wall in 1996.
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Bourque won the MVP and scoring a goal like that deserves it, but the East isn’t even in this position if Brodeur wasn’t stupendous in the first period. We can only hope more great All-Star Game performances like this can be in our future. We hope we see more of the same from Jack Hughes and other future All-Stars because that means we are sending more than one player to the game, something this team hasn’t done since 2007.