NHL Number 40 - Patrick Lalime

Have you ever been familiar with the name of a player, but once you took a look at their stats, you realized they were a much better player than you had realized?  That's the case for me with Patrick Lalime.  I knew he was a decent goaltender, but didn't realize the breadth of his NHL career until taking a look at his stats.  Before we get to the stats, let's just state right here that Henrik Zetterberg may very well wind up being the best to ever wear the number 40.....but not just yet (as of this writing).

Patrick Lalime has worn the jersey number 40 throughout his NHL career.  As of this writing, Lalime has racked up 200
 wins in net, playing for five different teams (Penguins, Senators, Blues, Blackhawks, Sabres), in 437 games.   For his time spent during the regular season in net, Lalime has earned a career .905 save percentage, good enough for 33rd all-time.  He has also racked up 35 shutouts, ranking him 39th all-time.  Think that's pretty good?  Here are some more Patrick Lalime goaltending stats:

• 2.57 career regular season goals-against-average
• 10,140 career regular season saves
• 1.77 goals-against-average in Stanley Cup Playoffs

In 2002-03, Lalime had his best regular season ever.  He racked up 39 wins, 1,449 saves, a .911 save percentage, and a low 2.11 GAA.  Not too shabby, eh? 

Did you know..........Patrick Lalime has a Marvin the Martian goalie mask?