10 Best Hockey Saves Ever

There are countless 10 best hockey saves ever lists, so another one may not grab your attention. This list however grabs a few of the unknown gems in hockey history that you may not know about. There are saves here that are under-rated, and some that are extraordinary. All of them are memorable and led to great things, or helped them happen. Have fun with the list and proceed to argue amongst yourselves.

1. Pavel Bure versus Mike Richter: Game 4 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, the ‘Russian Rocket’ was denied on his Penalty shot by goalie Mike Richter. Pavel Bure Dekes to Richters' left but Richter is un-phased and does the splits to recover to his right. Easily number one of the 10 best hockey saves ever made.
2. 31 versus 99 : Dominik Hasek versus Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins 1992 in the Stanley Cup Finals, Hasek had no less than three saves against a breaking Lemieux. The most important or telling was the final breakaway where Lemieux did not even try to make a move and did not try to fool Hasek. Lemieux took a pointblank shot from three feet away and Hasek made an historic glove save.
3. Martin Brodeur’s 104^th shutout: Dec. 21^st 2009 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jordan Staal’s back hander was not exceptionally tough, but it was a backhander in front and was the final save in the historic game. Brodeur faced a flurry of shots in the last minute.
4. Brodeur passes Patrick Roy as the goalie with the most wins all-time: Brodeur clinches win number 552 by blocking a shot from the blue line by Cam Barker with seconds to go with traffic in front.
5. Every goalies best friend:  Mark Messier in the 1996 Stanley cup playoffs versus the Pittsburgh Penguins shoots from the crease and beats defenseless goalie Ken Wregget. His shot went off the left goal post, then the right goal post, and even off the top goal post. Though the red light went off and Messier celebrated, it was not a goal and the goal post goes down as the best save made by a net in history.
6. The Penguins hold off Detroit in the 2009 Stanley cup game 7: Marc Andre Fleury recovers from a shot at the blue line to fight off a shot from Nicklas Lidstrom. Diving across the crease, the save would have been phenomenal under normal circumstances, but considering it saved the win for the Penguins and led to the Penguins Stanley Cup, it makes the list.
7. Shootout killer: Mathieu Garon was flawless in shootouts through 2007-2008 and was 10-0 in shootouts for the Edmonton Oilers. In a shootout every save is important and to go undefeated is quite a feet. This entry includes every save during that stretch.
8. The Miracle on Ice: The 1980 Team USA versus Russia. Everyone knows about the Miracle on Ice in 1980, but it would not have been possible if American goalie Jim Craig had not saved a blistering slap shot from the blue line by Vladimir Petrov with around 32 seconds remaining.
9. Patrick Roy imitates the statue of liberty: 2002 Western Conference Finals versus the Detroit Red Wings while goaltending for the Colorado Avalanche. This started as a great save, but it is memorable because Roy makes the save, then showboats and drops the puck leading to a memorable goal. The Avalanche would never recover, eventually losing the game and then the series in seven games.
10. Kirk Mclean keeps the Canucks in it: Though Mclean is not remembered as an athletic goalie, his stand up style stood up against the New York Rangers in game 1 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. His 54 save performance is one of the most memorable of all time, and his save against Mark Messier on a breakaway was perhaps his best.