Brodeur ties Roy's appearance record

Martin Brodeur tied Patrick Roy's NHL record for regular-season appearances by a goalie, and Patrik Elias scored the winner in the New Jersey Devils' 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens last night in Newark, N.J.

Brodeur played his 1,029th game, all with New Jersey in his 16-year career. Roy played for Montreal and Colorado in his 18-year career.

"It's durability," Brodeur said. "That's what playing a lot of games is. It's being durable, and it's being successful, because if you're not, the coach doesn't put you in there."

It marked the second time in two seasons that Brodeur equaled one of Roy's records against Montreal. Brodeur tied Roy for career wins last March, getting his 551st in the Bell Centre. Brodeur has pushed that total to 578.

Illka Pikkarainen also scored to help the Devils beat Montreal for the fifth straight time. Travis Moen scored for Montreal, which has lost four in a row, all by one goal.

In other games:

* At New York, Dwayne Roloson made 25 saves, and Jon Sim and Blake Comeau scored to give the Islanders a 2-1 victory over the Rangers.

* At Vancouver, Saku Koivu's goal with 4:13 left in the third period lifted Anaheim over the Canucks, 3-2.

* At Raleigh, N.C., Tuomo Ruutu had his first career hat trick, and Cam Ward made 24 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat Dallas, 5-3.

* At Toronto, Petr Prucha scored twice, and Keith Yandle and Martin Hanzal each had three assists in the Phoenix Coyotes' 6-3 victory over the Maple Leafs.

* At Ottawa, Brian Elliott made 22 saves for his second shutout in four games, and Alexandre Picard and Mike Fisher scored in the Senators' 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

* At Chicago, Cristobal Huet made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season, and Patrick Kane assisted on all three goals in the Blackhawks' 3-0 victory over St. Louis.

* At Sunrise, Fla., Michael Frolik scored with 1:21 left to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.

* The NHL is considering adding a Winter Classic outdoor game for Canadian teams.

So far the league's annual outdoor game on New Year's Day has matched up teams from American cities with strong hockey followings. Adding Canadian teams was considered for 2010, but it didn't happen.

* Ottawa center Jason Spezza will miss 6 to 8 weeks with a torn ligament in his right knee.