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Which was Roloson's best save? There were only 58 of them.

Last night's franchise-record 58-save performance by Dwayne Roloson was the type of display that makes #30 ROLOSON jerseys suddenly pop up in the stands overnight like fuzzy dandelions.

Seriously: If you were 8 years old and watched that game last night, you'd go right to your Dad with a new "absolutely positively must-have 'cause I really need it, Dad, I neeeeeeed it" item on your holiday wish list. Don't tell me you wouldn't.

So in honor of something historic by old man Roloson, it's time to vote on his best save of the night. Videos of these after the jump.

Star-divide

The Keep It Even, Just Relax Save

Second-period, game still 0-0, Islanders powerplay, Kyle Okposo (who had an uncharacteristic poor game) turns it over, allowing Jason Blake to rush in shorthanded. Roloson stops him, then also stops a second shot from the point. Remain calm boys, Rollie is here. (Bonus points for Rollie getting feisty after they storm his crease):


 

The "My 40-Year-Old Leg is Stronger Than Your Stupid Flimsy One-Piece Stick" Save

It's 3-1 Isles, closing seconds of the 2nd period. Surely if they can escape to the 3rd with a two-goal lead intact, they'll pull their heads out of their orifices and hold on for the win, right? So Roloson slams the door on Lee Stempniak:


 

The "Traffic Don't Phase Me, I'm Rollie the Goalie" Save

3-2 Isles, 14 minutes left, this is looking ugly as the Isles run around like headless chickens in their own zone. The Leafs put traffic in front and pound away from the point, then on Ponikarovsky's rebound. No dice.


 

The "Even My Own Damn Teammates Can't Sabotage This Night" Save

Still 3-2 Isles, 12:35 left in regulation. Not only does Roloson stop Phil Kessel on a great one-timer that was fed from behind the goal line, but he manages to keep the puck out after teammate Tim Jackman crashes into him and bowls him into the goal:


 

The "This Stupidity? This Ends Now." Save

After a 20-minute onslaught, the Leafs have finally tied it. The Islanders have blown another 3-0 lead, despite Roloson's best efforts. And while they're still announcing the goal, Kessel gets the puck in prime position: On his forehand, with traffic in front of the net, and with the ability to unleash his laser wrist shot around that traffic toward the far post ... where Roloson's glove calmly awaits. If this one goes in, game over. But Dwayne didn't make 50-some saves by this point just to have us reach game over:


 

The Jedi Awareness Save

You're just not supposed to be able to pick up deflections that are this good -- not unless your team has bailed on you all night and you expect the perfect storm on every shot. This is the one that should have won it for Toronto. Instead, Roloson pulls some kind of Jedi trick to pick off Hagman's sweet redirect in overtime.


Which one was your favorite? There were 58, so I might have left a few dozen out.

Poll
Which was Roloson's best save of the night?
It's cool, we're cool. (0-0 shorthanded save on Blake)
2 votes
Your one-piece is no match for my 40-year-old leg. (3-1 stuffing on Stempniak)
9 votes
Traffic? What traffic? (Ponikarovsky rebound)
1 votes
I'll stop you and my own teammates (Kessel one-timer, Jackman steamroller)
8 votes
Enough is enough! (3-3 save on Kessel's wrister)
21 votes
That's Jedi right there (OT save on Hagman's deflection)
55 votes
I'm a Leafs fan, so they all sucked. I hate you and your goalie.
3 votes

99 votes | Poll has closed

Comment 10 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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So tough to choose just one!

I’m a Leafs fan, so they all sucked. I hate you and your goalie.

LMAO!

Let Us Go, Islanders!
(Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)

by TheMetalChick on Nov 24, 2009 4:08 PM EST reply actions  

It is hard not to vote for the Enough is Enough just out of principle of the title. However that performance landed him on the top star of the night on nhl.com. I don’t think I can remember the last time I saw an Islander was the top star of the night on NHL.com. Everytime the Isles have a player with a great performance there is always something absurd that happens. I believe the review booth team in Toronto must be in charge of designating the 3 stars for the night.

I'll see your starting goalie and raise you a Biron.

by metalcoconut on Nov 24, 2009 4:37 PM EST reply actions  

No doubt. They probably go over the criteria: “Was it great? One point. Did it happen in Toronto? Three points.”

Watching the game highlights again, my god there were so many more great saves. Couldn’t put 58 options in the poll, though, and however many embedded videos already slows the load time down enough.

Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.

by Dominik on Nov 24, 2009 5:04 PM EST up reply actions  

from last October? Oh man…that is embarassing. Tavares or KO have to get up there soon. Moulson has been the man…in 2nd a couple of nights but that is all thus far from what I have seen.

I'll see your starting goalie and raise you a Biron.

by metalcoconut on Nov 24, 2009 5:28 PM EST up reply actions  

I don’t know if its true….I just thought of the most absurd recent example of a player of the week.

by HugoAgogo on Nov 24, 2009 5:43 PM EST up reply actions  

Gotta vote the leg kick keeping it out. That goal has seemingly gone in all season against either Rollie or Biron.

BTW, Toslaka is on IR and our favorite Fast Food Goalie is back in the NHL. And the Leafs called up Hanson too.

by Mark D on Nov 24, 2009 4:58 PM EST reply actions  

I’m with you. That was funny to see the repeated attempts followed with the stone wall leg pad. It was almost metaphorical for Toronto’s attitude thus far. “This is supposed to go in now because I’m a Leaf.” “Ok it will go in this time, no, ok this time…damn!” That play made me laugh but not as hard as the close up of Kessel after Rollie robbed him on the “This stupidity? This ends now!” save.

I'll see your starting goalie and raise you a Biron.

by metalcoconut on Nov 24, 2009 5:35 PM EST up reply actions  

I wanted to vote Leafs option

but it’d be lying and it was just too much fun watching Roloson frustrate Kessel.

I thought you knew that algebra was all razzamatazz. A Globetrotter always saves the good algebra for the final minutes.

by A.J. Haefele on Nov 24, 2009 4:58 PM EST reply actions  

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Islanders Schedule

1979-80


May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.

The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.

1980-81


May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.

Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.

1981-82


May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.

A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.

1982-83


May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.

Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.


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