Dwayne Roloson...

Let me start by saying I'm a Rangers fan. My Grandpa Allan was a season ticket holder in the 60s and 70s; my dad was a huge fan; one of my happiest moments ever was when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994; I cried when Mark Messier skated his last game in 2004 against the Sabres; I chanted "We Want the Cup" when the Rangers clinched the playoffs in 2008; and I've been to every Home Opener since 2006.

That said, those 2 saves by Dwayne Roloson tonight might go down as the best combination of saves this decade.

I can only think of a few better saves off the top of my head: Marty Turco in the playoffs a few years ago; Henrik Lundqvist on Marc Savard in Boston; and someone getting a piece with the shaft of his stick (can't remember - Craig Anderson?).

But two in succession like that? That's Patrick Roy-Mike Richter territory. That was unbelievable. Of course, if the 2nd one was counted a goal, we wouldn't even be talking about it right now, but as it stands, incredible hockey by Dwayne Roloson.

Veterans Day

If you saw last night's Canadiens-Bruins game, odds are good that you're still in awe. I know I am. Imagine being in the crowd during the pre-game ceremonies and watching the greats in Canadiens history taking warm-ups. Imagine seeing three generations of hockey legends taking the ice together. Canadiens fans must have felt such pride seeing the likes of Guy Lafleur taking shots on Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden. It's a far cry from the contrived practice of current players wearing the jersey of a retired player during warm-ups, no?

It's no surprise that the Canadiens were the ones to bring this memorable moment to us; they have never been anything less than spectacular when it comes to honoring their storied tradition. The Islanders? Well... not so much. It's been a pretty all-or-nothing deal with the Islanders over the years, and for a team that probably would have folded or moved many years ago if not for their tradition, that's not acceptable.

Since Bryan Trottier's #19 was retired in 2001, the Islanders have not raised a number to the rafters. Yes, they had Al Arbour Night in 2007 to commemorate the coach's 1500th game with the team, but they never bothered to update his banner to reflect his 740 wins. Instead, we see 1500 under Arbour's name - a sad reminder that the Islanders organization had very little faith that Arbour would actually win his 1500th game.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the Islanders' mismanagement of their alumni can be found in the Islanders Hall of Fame, which was established in 2006. The Islanders made a big deal out of their Hall of Fame, drawing a large crowd to that night's game, and named Bob Bourne as the Hall of Fame's first member. Since then? Nothing. At the time, I saw the Islanders Hall of Fame as a blatant way to play on Islanders fans' affection for the glory years, and apparently I was right. Not that Bourne doesn't deserve the honor - he clearly does - but it seemed like a very convenient way to draw a sellout crowd. The prior year, the Islanders held a 25th anniversary celebration for their first Stanley Cup win; the year after, they had the Core of the Four ceremony. And history shows that the only significance the Islanders Hall of Fame has is that it fulfilled the Islanders' unwritten requirement to bring the alumni back for one night to appease the fans.

When the Rangers announced plans to retire Adam Graves' number, I criticized the team for acting like Rangers history began in 1994. The Islanders, quite frankly, have behaved in much the same way. The way it looks to me, if you weren't part of the Cup winning teams, you're pretty much irrelevant to the organization. There's no legitimate reason why Pat LaFontaine's #16 isn't hanging from the rafters right now. There's no reason why guys like John Tonelli, Ed Westfall, Pierre Turgeon and Ziggy Palffy aren't in the Islanders Hall of Fame. (Note: Turgeon was on the ice last night with the other Canadiens legends, despite not even playing in half as many games for the Habs as he did with the Islanders.) It's insulting to these players, as well as the teammates who helped make them great, that their contributions aren't recognized by the Islanders organization. Especially guys like Palffy and LaFontaine, who essentially sold tickets by themselves while they were part of some horrible Islanders teams.

I understand that some of the alumni feels like the Islanders have exploited them over the years. They absolutely have every right to feel that way, because they were. But the Islanders have a tremendous opportunity to honor some players who haven't had their asses constantly kissed by the Islanders. This is especially important to younger fans who were reared on the 1993 Islanders. While it might sound blasphemous, to us, Turgeon and his teammates were just as important as the legends who now reside in the Hall of Fame. It never hurts to throw a bone to your younger generation of fans, as these are the fans who are deciding now how much they want to incorporate the Islanders in their now-grownup lives - as in, whether or not they're willing to invest serious money in season tickets.

Lastly, and most obviously - the Islanders would do well to honor their former players now. Because with all the uncertainty about where the team's future resides, if the Islanders don't honor these guys today, there might not be a tomorrow.

Martin Brodeur*...

I think it's funny how little press is going to the fact that Martin Brodeur isn't really the winningest goalie in NHL history. Everyone is talking about him like he's Jesus on Ice, when in reality he hasn't broken Patrick Roy's all-time wins record.

See, Brodeur has won 27 shootouts, putting his real win number at 525.

(I see people comparing this to Roger Maris, which is completely untrue. First off, Maris played like 8 more games than Ruth did. It would be comparable if Major League Baseball added an extra inning to every game. Brodeur won an extra 27 games from 2005-2009 that would have been ties for Roy. Second, this milestone is not nearly as important as Ruth's record was. If you asked me before this year what the record for wins was, I would not have known.)

What also is a lie is his "record" of 48 victories in one season, "breaking" Bernie Parent's record. The record was 47, Brodeur has 48 in 2006-07, yet 10 of them were in the shootout. Technically, he wouldn't have even broken 40 if this were pre-lockout years. 

I'm not an opponent of the shootout. In fact, I hated ties with a passion and thought they were killing hockey (along with the two-line pass rule, the New Jersey Devils, and Jacques Lemaire). Nothing was worse than seeing a 1-1 hockey game. Unfulfilling. And Lord knows my Rangers need shootouts to make the playoffs, and Henrik Lundqvist's 4-straight 30-win seasons (a record to start a career) was definitely amplified by the tiebreaker.

And yes, Brodeur will eventually break the record cleanly. He plays 70 games a year when healthy. I would also say he legitimately has 3 or 4 more seasons in him as a starter, so that's atleast 100 more regulation/overtime wins without shootouts. 

Before Devils fans learn to read and come on this website and bash me for being a Brodeur hater...

1) I don't particularly like Brodeur. I've met him in person, and he has an awful personality. I think he's childish, he takes dives, he whines, and there's a reason he sits alone on the buses after games. 

2) I understand he's a great goaltender. I don't think he was as good as Roy was. But I know he should eventually own this record outright, just next season.

I just wish the coronation of Brodeur to God-like levels by the NHL would stop.

Congrats?

There is no way Martin Brodeur is better than Patrick Roy.

Roy reinvented the position of goaltender in the NHL. Before him, the majority of goalies simply stood there and watched pucks fly by. Roy brought the butterfly to prominence and used it to dominate the most offensive era in NHL history. Here's a sample of how good Roy was, using his Vezina winning years...

 - 1988-89: 2.47 GAA; average goals per game was 7.48.

 - 1989-90: 2.53 GAA; average goals per game was 7.37.

 - 1991-92: 2.36 GAA; average goals per game was 6.96.

As for Brodeur? He won more Vezinas, but in not so impressive a fashion...

 - 2002-03: 2.02 GAA; average goals per game was 5.31.

 - 2003-04: 2.03 GAA; average goals per game was 5.14.

 - 2006-07: 2.18 GAA; average goals per game was 5.89.

 - 2007-08: 2.17 GAA; average goals per game was 5.57.

You'll never sell this writer on the theory that Brodeur is better than Roy. At the same time, I have to give Brodeur all the credit in the world for his record-setting achievement tonight. Here's a guy who has played at least 67 games in the past eleven straight seasons. You could argue that his workload over the past decade has changed the game just as Roy did; while goaltending used to be a tandem position, at least during the regular season, teams now look for workhorse-type goalies like Brodeur. It's also worth noting that Brodeur set recorded his 552nd win in 42 less games than it took Roy to win 551 games. And while Brodeur is often criticized for playing in a defense-first system, let the record show that many other teams have tried to play the same system as the Devils, but with much less success.

With all of this in mind... congratulations, Martin Brodeur.

(All statistics courtesy of www.hockey-reference.com)