MARCH 2002 TOP TEN (FINAL)

1.  Neil Robinson           50
2.  Tom Mascioli            45
3.  Gary Balentine          40
4.  Donny Daubanton         27
5.  Scott Bennett           26
6.  Bill Clare              19
7.  Jeff Smith              17
8.  Jason Kurylo            15
    Bryan McCready          15
10. Phil Michaels           14

TWO-POINT QUESTION: On February 27, Florida's a 7-4 Tampa Bay victory in Toronto, Roberto Luongo set a franchise record with fifty-seven saves in an eventual 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings. Prior to Luongo, who held the Panthers' team record in this category?
CORRECT ANSWER: Luongo actually broke two Florida records in this game, both held by the same goaltender. The regular-season mark for saves in one Florida game was held by John Vanbiesbrouck, playing in the Panthers' inaugural season against his former club. The Rangers pounded the Beezer with 54 shots, and John stopped 51 of them, eventually falling 3-2. The all-time Florida record for saves in one game (including postseason) is a game that you probably watched, at least on television. Game Four of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals went three overtimes, with Vanbiesbrouck and Colorado's Patrick Roy stopping shot after shot after shot, until Avalanche defenseman Uwe Krupp found the back of the net, sealing the Cup win for the Avs. In that contest, the Beezer stopped the first fifty-five shots of the game, a (then) Florida record.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: Name the goaltender who was in net for Raymond Bourque's first National Hockey League goal.
CORRECT ANSWER: Everybody loved Raymond's first career goal, as it was scored at the Boston Garden in front of the hometown Bruin faithful. In a 4-0 Bruins win over the Winnipeg Jets, on October 11, 1979, Bourque scored his inaugural goal (and added an assist) against Pierre Hamel, at 9:33 of the second period.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: Among goaltenders whose name does not appear on Lord Stanley's Cup, name the one with the greatest number of National Hockey League postseason victories.
CORRECT ANSWER: With a total of forty-eight wins in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Toronto's Curtis Joseph holds this dubious mark - what more, CuJo has never even appeared in the Finals. Second place goes to Ron Hextall (47 wins).

BONUS QUESTION: Name the last Montreal Canadiens goaltender to win their first decision in the National Hockey League (while playing for the Habs).
CORRECT ANSWER: After two appearances in relief of Andre Racicot, American-born Les Kuntar earned his first decision, a 5-2 win in Calgary over the Flames, on New Years' Eve 1993. Here's betting that the 24-year-old had a great time on the town that night.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Identify the goaltender in this picture:

CORRECT ANSWER: Doug Keans, who spent the majority of his National Hockey League time with the early-80s Boston Bruins.

TWO-POINT QUESTION: Colorado's Patrick Roy, Tampa Bay's Nikolai Khabibulin, and Phoenix's Sean Burke are each making strong cases for winning the NHL's Hart Trophy, awarded to the league's most valuable player. Name the last goaltender to win the Hart Trophy.
CORRECT ANSWER: In 1997-98, Buffalo's Dominik Hasek won the Hart, going 33-23-13 with a 2.09 goals-against average, 93.2% save percentage and thirteen shutouts. The most recent winner before Hasek? Well, Hasek naturally - he won it back-to-back.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: In their second National Hockey League season, the San Jose Sharks lost seventeen consecutive games, tying the league record. In what would have been their eighteenth defeat in a row, name the goaltender who stepped up, making thirty-five saves in a road victory, to snap the streak.
CORRECT ANSWER: On Valentine's Day, 1993, Arturs Irbe was the streakbuster, winning in Winnipeg against the Jets. Irbe cemented his spot as the Sharks' #1 goaltender after this, starting the vast majority of games for the next two seasons in San Jose.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: On January 11, 1993, Boston's Reggie Lemelin announced his retirement. Specifically, why did Lemelin retire on this day?
CORRECT ANSWER: On Janaury 7, the Bruins called up John Blue, and planned to demote Lemelin to the American Hockey League Providence Bruins. Rather than accept this fate, the 38-year-old decided to hang 'em up for good. Neil Robinson provides this quote from USA Today: "There are some facts I have to face. The organization has long-term plans and I'm not part of those plans. I don't think the minors is a good place for a guy like me."

BONUS QUESTION: Name the only goaltender to be ejected from a National Hockey League game before earning his first NHL victory.
CORRECT ANSWER: On December 9, 1995, at 6:40 of the second period of the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders, Corey Schwab was ejected for leaving the crease and beating the snot out of counterpart Tommy Soderstrom (to be fair, Schwab was much larger than Soderstrom). Over ten months later, with his second National Hockey League team, Schwab earned his first league win - a 7-4 Tampa Bay victory in Toronto.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Identify the goaltender in this picture:

CORRECT ANSWER: Andy Brown, who's probably best known for being the final National Hockey League netminder to go maskless (through 1973-74). Brown then spent the next three seasons with the WHA Indianapolis Racers without donning facial protection. Very brave, very dumb, or very crazy? Why do we have to choose just one?

TWO-POINT QUESTION: With his recent concussion problems, this National Hockey League goaltender's quest for 300 wins - once thought to be assured to be achieved this season - is now in doubt, or at least on hold until next year. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: The New York Rangers' Mike Richter, who - as it turns out - has what's termed as a "slight" skull fracture, and is almost surely done for the year.

THREE-POINT QUESTION: On Saturday, Detroit's Brendan Shanahan scored his 500th National Hockey League goal. From a goaltender perspective, what was significant about this milestone tally?
CORRECT ANSWER: Roy, who had previously been the only goaltender to give up 500th NHL goals to two separate individuals (Steve Yzerman and Joe Mullen), has now given up three 500th NHL goals. Roy's now tied with the empty net, which has also given up three 500ths.

FIVE-POINT QUESTION: According to this current National Hockey League goaltender, his nickname is misspelled on his own facemask. Name him.
CORRECT ANSWER: Nikolai Khabibulin, better known as "The B(o)ulin Wall". From an interview in ESPN The Magazine: "Someone tabbed me the Bulin Wall [after the Berlin Wall] and it stuck. I told the painter to do something cool. So he did this thing based on The Wall by Pink Floyd. I don't know anything about Pink Floyd. I don't have any of their CDs. I don't even know what some of the things here are. And they spelled my nickname wrong - there shouldn't be an O."

BONUS QUESTION: Also on Saturday, Atlanta's Frederic Cassivi defeated the team that drafted him (Ottawa), despite being outshot by a 52-15 margin (37 shots difference). Name the last National Hockey League goaltender to win a game with a larger disparity in number of shots faced.
CORRECT ANSWER: I thought more people would get this one, since it occured this season. On December 18, 2001, fellow Thrasher Milan Hnilicka stopped 53 of 55 Boston shots, as his Atlanta club won, 3-2 in overtime, despite getting a meager fourteen shots on the Bruins' Byron Dafoe.

PICTORAL QUESTION: Identify the goaltender in this picture:

CORRECT ANSWER: Frederic Cassivi, who finally made it to the National Hockey League after six-plus years in the minors. It takes time for young goaltenders to develop, folks!