On Sunday evening Martin Brodeur notched his 100th career shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Goals were scored by Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Gionta, and Johnny Oduya.

Without a doubt, Brodeur stole the show in Newark, New Jersey last night. Brodeur stopped all 27 shots he faced, and earned the game’s first star for his netminding efforts. The game was only the third back from an injury for Brodeur. In his previous two games he’d picked up two victories, letting in only two combined goals (one of the games was a shutout).

“Any goalie, that’s your dream team in front of you, one that scores goals and is responsible defensively,” Brodeur said. “I don’t think we are cutting corners in our own zone. We’ve been really disciplined in these three games and that makes a big difference in keeping the puck out of your net.”

No member of the Philadelphia Flyers would let Brodeur’s presence be an excuse for their mediocre play. The team managed just 27 shots on goal, and had trouble staying out of the penalty box. The Flyers wouldn’t convert on either of their power play opportunities, and lost 36 of the game’s face-offs.

“Not a very good one from our part,” Flyers star Simon Gagne said. “If you shoot 25 or 26 shots, it’s tough to win hockey games, especially against Martin Brodeur. We did not test him enough and they got the best of us.”

This game did nothing but further distance the Devils from the remainder of the competition in the Atlantic Division. The recent decline of the New York Rangers lead to a significant 13 point difference between New Jersey and the Rangers in the standings. The Penguins and Islanders are in 4th and 5th place, respectively. If the Flyers prolong this level of poor play, they could find themselves out of the running to win the Atlantic Division.

Meanwhile, everything’s going as planned for the New Jersey Devils. The team’s now won three consecutive games, and have a comfortable division lead in the final months of the season.

“It’s easy to play in this league when you have the lead and you are not down right away,” Zach Parise said after last night’s game. With the way the Devils have been playing of late, it’s hard to disagree with him.