It’s been a season to remember for Martin Brodeur, who has been the primary reason the Devils remain the class of Atlantic Division. He has posted the second-best save percentage (.921) of his Hall of Famecaliber career, and his 12 shutouts are the most he’s recorded in a single season. He is once again a front-running candidate for both the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and Vezina Trophy (best goaltender).

But it’s the milestone Brodeur will be reaching for tonight against the Flyers that will be the most impressive accomplishment of his stellar campaign. With 47 victories, he has tied former Philadelphia Flyer Bernie Parent for the NHL record, set during the 1973–74 season.

Although the NHL has affirmed that Brodeur’s record would be without asterisk, it is worth noting that Parent accomplished his feat long before regular season overtime and shootouts eliminated the possibility of tie games. Of Brodeur’s 47 wins thus far, 10 have come during the extra session or in a shootout.

Perhaps most critically of all, if Brodeur comes out on top in tonight’s matchup with the Flyers, he will not only set a NHL record, he also will help the Devils clinch the Atlantic Division title. And the importance of this detail cannot be overstated.

Should the Devils fall behind the onrushing Pittsburgh Penguins, they will likely open the postseason on the road against the mighty Ottawa Senators. But if they win tonight, the Devils will assure themselves home-ice advantage for round one, and a far easier first round date with (most likely) either the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Rangers.

There are, of course, some negatives to consider where this record is concerned. Brodeur will be playing in his 78th game (a new personal high) when he takes to the ice for the Devils tonight. And there is good reason to wonder whether this exorbitant workload has sapped Brodeur of strength he’ll need to help New Jersey succeed in the postseason. The tireless pursuit of regular season excellence could prove costly later this month, when the Devils begin what will be an incredibly arduous eightweek pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

So here’s how the teams line up this week. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by games played, W–L–OTL, standings points, goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success. Please note that the data are up to and including games played on Tuesday night and that our statistics for special teams effectiveness also take shorthanded goals into account. Each team’s ranking from last week appears in parentheses.

1 BUFFALO SABRES (1): With their victory over the Penguins on Tuesday, the Sabres guaranteed themselves to be the Eastern Conference’s top seed. With Maxim Afinogenov and Tim Connolly close to returning, the Sabres will be firing on all cylinders when the postseason begins.
79 51–21–7 109 299 236 14.4%83.3%

2 DETROIT RED WINGS (3): Dominik Hasek registered the 76th shutout of his stellar career on Tuesday night, moving into a tie for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time list, when he stopped 35 shots en route to a 3-0 win over the hapless Blue Jackets.
80 49–19–12 110 245 194 14.1% 87.3%

3 ANAHEIM DUCKS (4): J.S. Giguere (36-10-8) has been increasingly as season has progressed and has returned the elite form he demonstrated when winning the Conn Smythe Trophy during the 2003 playoffs.
79 47–20–12 106 251 200 21.1% 85.7%

4 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (2): The Preds have lost three straight games and are squandering points at the worst possible time. In danger of losing home-ice advantage for the playoffs’ first round, Nashville badly needs a win over St. Louis tonight.
80 49–23–8 106 264 209 14.5%85.9%

5 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (5): Not surprisingly 25-year-old power forward Taylor Pyatt is blossoming playing alongside the Sedin twins. The former Islanders firstround pick has scored 22 goals thus far and is emerging as a key component of the Canucks’ offense.
79 48–24–7 103 216 192 15.2%88.6%

6 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (8): Although it might not have been fair that Claude Julien missed out on the opportunity to coach this Devils team in the playoffs, Lou Lamoriello and the Devils have always made it clear that they place winning above all else.
80 48–24–8 104 211 196 16.8% 87.5%

7 SAN JOSE SHARKS (10): The surging Sharks were on an 11–1–2 roll entering last night’s battle with the Ducks. And once again, “Jumbo” Joe Thornton is leading the way with a dominating stretch run performance.
79 49–26–4 102 248 190 21.8%86.0%

8 DALLAS STARS (7): A disappointing loss to the Blues on Monday did serious harm to Dallas’ hopes of catching the division-leading Ducks. And so the Stars, who posted a 10–1–1 record in their previous 12 games, will likely begin the postseason on the road.
79 48–25–6 102 220 192 17.5% 84.8%

9 OTTAWA SENATORS (6): Tonight, the Sens host Sidney Crosby and the Penguins for what is in all likelihood a first-round playoff preview. The only thing that remains to be decided is which team will have home-ice advantage in the first round, and tonight’s game will be play a huge factor.
80 47–24–9 103 280 216 14.6%89.2%

10 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (11): Evgeni Malkin’s strong play down the stretch has rightly cemented his status as the front-running candidate for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. With 85 points in 76 games, he’s been nothing short of sensational.
80 45–24–11 101 272 243 17.1% 85.5%

11 MINNESOTA WILD (9): Veteran Keith Carney (plus-19) and young Brent Burns (plus-14) have been two of the most important contributors on the Wild’s blue line, which makes up for a lack of star power with uncommon depth and stability.
80 46–26–8 100 227 190 16.9%88.4%

12 CALGARY FLAMES (12): Captain Jarome Iginla (91 points in 68 games) has re-emerged as one of the NHL’s top forwards after a disappointing 2005–06 campaign (67 points in 82 games) and has tallied six points in the Flames’ last three games.
79 43–26–10 96 250 213 12.9% 87.6%

13 ATLANTA THRASHERS (13): Much like the team pursuing them for the Southeast Division lead — the Tampa Bay Lightning — the Thrashers are limping to the finish line, and it appears as though the Southeast won’t extend its Cup-winning streak to a third season.
79 41–27–11 93 237 239 14.2% 81.6%

14 COLORADO AVALANCHE (15): The never-say-die Avs earned a huge victory over the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday, but they remain five points behind the Flames with only three games to go, and so it’s looking highly unlikely that they’ll overtake Calgary.
79 42–30–7 91 261 243 10.4%85.6%

15 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (16): With 52 goals, Vincent Lecavalier is a sure bet to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal-scorer and has officially emerged as a top-tier NHL forward.
80 44–32–4 92 249 251 15.7% 83.3%

16 NEW YORK RANGERS (14): With two games remaining, the Rangers need only one point to clinch a spot in the postseason. Tonight, they’ll take on the eighthplace Montreal Canadiens at the Garden in what will be a very important test of their mettle.
80 41–29–10 92 238 213 17.3%86.9%

17 MONTREAL CANADIENS (19): Entering tonight’s battle with the Rangers at MSG, rookie goalie Jaroslav Halak is 7–1 in his last eight games. Although Cristobal Huet is ready to return from his hamstring injury, the job is now Halak’s to lose.
80 42–32–6 90 239 247 20.9%87.8%

18 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (20): The Leafs are 12–3–3 when gritty winger Darcy Tucker scores a goal. Tonight, Tucker and the Leafs head to Uniondale to take on the Islanders in what is an unquestionably must-win game for both teams.
80 39–30–11 89 250 259 14.8% 79.7%

19 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (18): Ted Nolan has made the right choice by going with Wade Dubielewicz in Rick DiPietro’s absence. Though Dubielewicz lacks experience, he gives the team a much better chance to win than would veteran Mike Dunham.
79 37–30–12 86 236 234 15.3%83.3%

20 CAROLINA HURRICANES (17): The defending Cup champions were eliminated from the playoff race this week; from the Jack Johnson trade to the ill-advised reacquisition of Jaroslav Spacek, the year has been characterized by questionable personnel decisions.
80 39–33–8 86 235 245 12.8% 82.7%

21 FLORIDA PANTHERS (21): With the exceptions of firstline center Olli Jokinen and top defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, this season has been an unmitigated disaster for the rudderless Panthers.
80 34–31–15 83 236 250 15.9%83.8%

22 ST. LOUIS BLUES (23): Former Calder Trophy winner Barret Jackman has been tremendous down the stretch for the Blues, tallying eight points and a plus-10 rating in his last 12 games.
80 34–33–13 81 212 245 9.7% 81.9%

23 BOSTON BRUINS (22): Owner Jeremy Jacobs called Dave Lewis’s performance into question earlier this week, and although the head coach has apparently been given a vote of confidence by GM Peter Chiarelli, his job is anything but secure.
80 35–39–6 76 214 279 12.8%83.6%

24 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (24): It’s been a rough year all around for the Blue Jackets. But one bright spot has been the breakout performance by 32-year-old David Vyborny, who has emerged as one of the NHL’s most dynamic playmaking forwards.
80 32–41–7 71 196 244 19.2% 81.7%

25 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (29): Blackhawks prospect Jonathan Toews will be suiting up for the University of North Dakota in the NCAA’s Frozen Four today in St. Louis. How the Fighting Sioux fare will likely have a huge impact on Toews’s plans for 2007–08.
79 30–40–9 69 194 246 17.4%84.0%

26 EDMONTON OILERS (25): The season cannot end soon enough for the deflated Oilers, who have won only once in their last 18 games.
80 31–42–7 69 192 243 13.0%85.8%

27 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (27): Tuesday night’s 1–0 blanking of the Panthers was Olaf Kolzig’s first shutout in more than three years. Tomorrow, the eversteady netminder celebrates his 37th birthday.
80 27–39–14 68 232 282 13.3%82.8%

28 LOS ANGELES KINGS (26): With five consecutive losses, the Kings aren’t exactly finishing on a high note, but their youngsters are getting very valuable experience as the campaign comes to a close.
80 26–40–14 66 222 278 17.0% 79.1%

29 PHOENIX COYOTES (28): With only two wins in their last 16 contests, the freefalling Coyotes are providing good reason to wonder whether Wayne Gretzky will return for a third season behind the bench.
79 29–45–5 63 208 278 13.0%79.2%

30 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (30): The young Flyers have delivered some very strong performances of late, most notably a 5–1 drubbing of the Hurricanes that effectively dashed the defending Cup champs’ playoff hopes.
79 21–46–12 54 206 293 10.4%88.6%

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.