Schwei's Devils Notebook: Little-Known Facts, Odd Stats And Strange Records

By John Schweibacher
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The Devils are at NHL .500, 8-8-2 with 18 points in their 18 games played, as they head to Canada this week for a four-game trip that will take them up to Thanksgiving.

Cory Schneider has now started 18 consecutive games to open the season, the second-longest stretch by a goaltender to begin a season in Devils history. Martin Brodeur holds the record, having started 19 straight from October 6 through November 20 to open the 2001-02 campaign.

Schneider has a won-loss record of 8-7-2 (18 points) with one no-decision in his 18 starts. Brodeur went 8-7-4 (20 points, including two ties and two overtime losses) in his 19 starts back in 2001-02.

For all the questions Pete DeBoer has gotten about Schneider's workload, keep this in mind: Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall started the 1955-56 season with Detroit, and it wasn't until November 7, 1962 with Chicago -- an incomparable NHL-record 502 consecutive games later -- that he was finally forced to rest with a back injury.

Schneider posted his first shutout of the season with a 1-0 victory over the Capitals in Washington. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was Schneider's sixth 1-0 shutout win over the last four seasons, which ties him with Jonathan Quick for the league-high since 2011-12. Schneider recorded three shutouts for New Jersey last season and the last two of them were 1-0 wins.

Schneider's three 1-0 shutouts for New Jersey are the third-most in club history:

• Martin Brodeur: 25

• Johan Hedberg: 4

• Cory Schneider: 3

• Sam St. Laurent: 1

• Sean Burke: 1

• Scott Clemmensen: 1

The shutout was also the Devils' fifth all-time against the Capitals on the road, and the second by a 1-0 score:

• 11/14/14: NJD 1 at Was 0 -- Cory Schneider

• 3/2/12: NJD 5 at Was 0 -- Johan Hedberg

• 12/1/98: NJD 4 at Was 0 -- Martin Brodeur

• 4/1/97: NJD 1 at Was 0 -- Martin Brodeur

• 2/20/95: NJD 2 at Was 0 -- Martin Brodeur

Mike Cammalleri scored the lone goal in New Jersey's 1-0 win. He now has three game-winning goals this season and eight in his last 26 games dating back to March 12.

The goal was unassisted, New Jersey's first in a 1-0 game (excluding shootouts) since January 16, 2007 vs. the New York Rangers (Brad Lukowich). The only other unassisted goal in a 1-0 Devils victory was scored by Jamie Langenbrunner at Philadelphia back on November 7, 2002.

On Monday night the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2014 will be inducted at the annual ceremony in Toronto.

Here are the inductees and how they fared against or for the New Jersey Devils:

• Peter Forsberg: Career vs. New Jersey -- 22 games played, 5 goals, 17 assists

First game vs. Devils: 2/2/95 -- Quebec 4 at NJD 5 (0 pts)

Last game vs. Devils: 2/1/07 -- NJD 6 at Philadelphia 5 (1 G, 2A)

Forsberg did not appear in the postseason against New Jersey. He missed the 2001 Stanley Cup finals after having his spleen removed during that postseason, leaving him unable to play after the second round.

• Mike Modano: Career vs. New Jersey -- 30 games played, 7 goals, 8 assists

First game vs. Devils: 11/15/89 -- Minnesota 2 at NJD 1 OT (assisted on Clark Donatelli's overtime goal).

Last game vs. Devils: 1/5/10 -- Dallas 0 at NJD 4.

Modano faced the Devils in just one postseason series, the 2000 Stanley Cup finals. Modano had one goal and three assists in the six games, including the game-winner for Dallas in triple-overtime in Game 5.

• Dominik Hasek: Career vs. New Jersey -- 24 games, 11-9-2, 2.33 GAA and 5 shutouts

First game vs. Devils: 11/18/92 at Hamilton, Ontario -- New Jersey 3 Buffalo 2. (31 saves)

Last game vs. Devils: 11/16/06 -- Detroit 2 at NJD 1 (21 saves)

Hasek faced the Devils in just one postseason series, the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Hasek went 3-4 in the series, allowing just 13 goals. He stopped 248 of 261 shots for a save percentage of .950 with and had two shutouts, including a 70-save performance in a 1-0 Sabres win in quadruple-overtime in Game 6.

• Rob Blake: Career vs. New Jersey -- 26 games, 7 goals, 5 assists

First game vs. Devils: 11/20/90 -- NJD 4 at Los Angeles 5 (0 Pts)

Last Game vs. Devils: 3/2/10 -- NJD 4 at SJ 3 (1 assist)

Blake faced the Devils in just one postseason series, the 2001 Stanley Cup finals. Blake had two goals and three assists for Colorado in the seven games.

• Bill McCreary: The longtime NHL referee, who worked 1,737 regular-season games, made his debut on November 3, 1984. It was a contest between the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland. The Capitals won, 6-4.

McCreary worked 297 postseason games, including all three of the New Jersey Devils' Stanley Cup-clinching wins in 1995, 2000 and 2003.

• Pat Burns: Led the New Jersey Devils to their third Stanley Cup championship in 2003 in the first of his two seasons as their head coach. Burns is the only three-time Jack Adams Award winner, taking the honors with Montreal in 1988-89, Toronto in 1992-93 and with Boston in 1997-98. Burns' teams went 12-10-8 all-time against New Jersey, while the Devils went 89-45-30 under him in the regular season. Burns passed away four years ago this week on November 19, 2010. He was 58 years old.

Schwei's Plus Minus:

Plus: Mike Cammalleri -- The Devils' LW returned after missing six games due to a suspected concussion and registered four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in four games. His 11 points are second to Jaromir Jagr's 12 for the club lead.

Minus: Power-Play Powerless -- New Jersey's penalty-killing has improved, going 11-for-11 over the last three games. But the club's power play has now gone just 1-for-21 over the last seven contests.

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