Brodeur gives up four goals in debut as Blues fall to Predators

This time last season, Martin Brodeur was well on his way through his 21st NHL season with the New Jersey Devils. On Thursday night, Brodeur suited up for the first time this season. But in this outing, he was minding the net for the St. Louis Blues. The 42-year-old goalie allowed four goals on 24 shots in his Blues debut, a 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators.

St. Louis signed Brodeur to a professional tryout contract on November 26 after starting goaltender Brian Elliott was sidelined by injury. After signing a pro-rated one-year contract, coach Ken Hitchcock expressed that Brodeur's presence was meaningful, saying "If he's here, he's going to play." After backing up Jake Allen in a loss to Chicago on Wednesday, he stood in front of a net that didn't belong to the Devils. 

Brodeur struggled in his last few seasons in New Jersey, but he did make a handful of nice saves in his Blues debut, including this one on Nashville forward Taylor Beck.  

During his with the Devils, Brodeur was four-time Vezina Trophy winner, a Calder Memorial Trophy winner, a 10-time NHL All-Star, a five-time Jennings Trophy winner and one of only two NHL goaltenders to score a goal in  the regular season and playoffs.

-- Katie Brown