Eveleth and hockey go hand in hand.

The small north-eastern city in Minnesota has been home to countless Hall of Fame hockey players, including "Mister Zero", who's more commonly known as Frank Brimsek.

Brimsek's name has become widely known across the nation's capital as rookie netminder Andrew Hammond tied the Hall of Famer's 77-year-old record after a 2-1 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Brimsek, who played with the Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks, holds a record dating back to Dec. 27, 1938, which saw him allow two goals or less in his first 12 NHL starts.

And now all the people of Eveleth can do is sit back and watch as the Hamburglar attempts to steal Brimsek's long-standing record against his former team, the Bruins on Thursday night.

"I hope he wins because my uncle Frank has passed," said Tom Brimsek, one of Frank's nephews who lives in Eveleth and plans to watch the game Thursday.

"God bless him (Hammond). If he gets that record, wherever his career goes after this he'll be able to have it his whole life."

Tom said Hammond's story reminds him of how his uncle got his start.

"When he first started, he replaced a guy named Tiny (Cecil Ralph) Thompson (also a Hall of Famer). He went on to post six shutouts in his first seven games."

He said despite the lack of Hamburglar hype in Eveleth, Hammond's historic streak is "great for the game."

Brimsek passed away on Nov. 11, 1998 at the age of 85 but his legacy lives on in his hometown.

Eveleth is home of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, and the world's largest free-standing hockey stick and puck.

The city's rink, the Eveleth Hippodrome, showcases several photos of Brimsek throughout his career while the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame has both of his Vezina Trophies and some old equipment on display.

"We pay good attention to hockey history here," said Doug Palazzari, executive director of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

"Especially a guy like Frank. Everyone knows who he is."

Palazzari said he didn't even know about Brimsek's record until he heard Hammond had tied it.

And he's not too keen on the Burglar breaking the feat.

"I don't want anyone to break his record, but records are made to be broken," said Palazzari from his office.

"We appreciate the feat that the rookie is doing because it's incredible."

Hammond has even caught the attention of Phil Pritchard, the keeper of the Stanley Cup.

He said the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto won't be reaching out to Hammond or the Senators until a new record is set.

"As much as we love gathering artifacts, we usually don't reach out to a team until after a record has been set or broken ... out of respect to the player," said Pritchard.

"It is an amazing feat though so far."

keaton.robbins@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @Keaton_Robbins