Marrtin-Brodeur-Eric-Hartline.JPG

Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, who beat the Flyers Tuesday night, had 403 career wins at the age of 32.

(Eric Hartline/USA Today)

Martin Brodeur's mini "comeback" is impressive, even it is just a handful of games at this point.



The Devils will certainly need Cory Schneider over the final 16 games if they are to make the playoffs, but Brodeur's resurgence from where he was two weeks ago has reminded many of his greatness. He has won four in a row, suggesting that reclaiming the No. 1 goaltending job with the Devils down the stretch is not a fantasy.



Brodeur's 2-1 victory over the Flyers Tuesday night was the 686th of his career and it brought to mind the milestone Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist reached on Sunday when he posted his 300th career win.



Is it possible for Lundqvist to even approach Brodeur's NHL wins record if he plays another decade?



"I've never really looked at his stats. You never know," Brodeur told The Star-Ledger. "They've (the Rangers) got to be a successful team and parity is a lot greater than it used to be. It's going to be tough."



Lundqvist was 32 years, seven days old when he won his 300th.



Brodeur reached the same age on May 13, 2004, a month after the Devils had been eliminated from the playoffs. He had 403 career victories at that point.



Of course, as Bob Waterman of the Elias Sports Bureau points out, that isn't a "like-to-like" comparison since 48 of Lundqvist's 300 wins came in shootouts. None of Brodeur's wins through 2003-04 did, since the shootout wasn't introduced until 2005-06, which happened to be Lundqvist's first NHL season.



A more valid head-to-head comparison would be Brodeur's first 403 wins to Lundqvist's 252 non-shootout wins.



It is impossible to know how many victories Brodeur might have had at age 32 years, seven days had there been shootouts. He had 105 ties through 2003-04, so by winning 52 of those he'd have had 455 wins at Lundqvist's age.



Before he retires, Brodeur could play another season and make a run at 700 career wins. If Lundqvist plays another 10 seasons (this is his 9th), what figure might he reach?



"He may be able to get close to the records of Patrick (Roy) and those guys. There aren't many guys that have (those stats)," Brodeur suggested.



Roy is second all-time with 551 wins and Ed Belfour third at 484.



Are 500 wins within reach for Lundqvist?



"It depends on how long he plays," Brodeur said. "I hope so for him. It would mean he's going to have a helluva career."

* * *

How do they compare?

Henrik Lundqvist was 32 years, seven days old when he won his 300th career game. How does he compare with Martin Brodeur at the same age?

Goalie Games* Record* Age he broke into NHL

Lundqvist 560 300-191-61 23

Brodeur 740 403-217-105 19

* At age 32 years, 7 days

Source: NHL