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Big Ben: Scrivens sets NHL record with 59-save shutout over San Jose

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James OBrien

On Wednesday night, Ben Scrivens was unbeatable.

The Edmonton goalie, acquired from Los Angeles two weeks ago, set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout by stopping all 59 shots faced in a 3-0 win over San Jose at Rexall. The epic performance topped the previous record of 54 saves in a shutout, set by Phoenix goalie Mike Smith against Columbus during the 2011-12 campaign. (It should be noted this mark is the most in a shutout since the NHL began tracking shots on goal 56 years ago.)

“That’s got to be one of the best performances by a goalie I’ve ever seen,” Taylor Hall said, per the Oilers’ Twitter feed. “You could tell he was feeling it.”

Scrivens stopped 50 shots at even strength, eight while the Oilers were on the penalty kill and one while his team had a man advantage.

As for other historical marks set on Wednesday night:

-- Scrivens’ 59 saves were the most since Quebec’s Ron Tugnutt made 70 saves in a 3-3 tie at Boston on March 21, 1991. Before that, the most saves by a goaltender was 58, made by the Islanders’ Dwayne Roloson in a 4-3 overtime win at Toronto during the 2009-10 campaign.

-- Scrivens broke Edmonton’s franchise mark for saves in a game, previously held by Bill Ranford (who had 56 against the New York Rangers in Mar. 1993).

In news that flew far, far under the radar -- but still worth mentioning -- the Oilers won their third game in a row for just the second time this season on goals from Justin Schultz, Hall and Jordan Eberle. But obviously the night was all about Scrivens, who put forth a performance that will go down as one of the greatest individual efforts in Edmonton franchise history.

Update: Another point worth mentioning -- the record for most saves in a postseason shutout is 70, set by Dominik Hasek during the ’94 playoffs. He stopped ‘em all during a quadruple-OT game against the Devils, the third-longest scoreless overtime game in NHL playoff history.