Patrick Lalime

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size = 200px
position = Goaltender
catches = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 3
weight_lb = 189
team = Buffalo Sabres
league = NHL
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1974|7|7
birth_place = St. Bonaventure, QC
career_start = 1994
draft = 156th overall
draft_year = 1993
draft_team = Pittsburgh Penguins


image_size = 200px
former_teams = Chicago Blackhawks
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ottawa Senators
St. Louis Blues

Patrick Lalime (born July 7, 1974 in St. Bonaventure, Quebec) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.

Pre-NHL years

He played his junior hockey with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. In 1992–93, Lalime posted a 10–24–4 record with a GAA of 4.67 and a .863 save percentage as the team failed to make the playoffs. In the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Lalime was chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 6th round, 156th overall pick. In 1993–94, he returned to the Cataractes and posted a solid 22–20–2 record with a GAA of 4.22. In the playoffs, Lalime struggled badly with a 1–3 record and GAA of 6.73.

In 1994–95, Lalime moved to the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL where he posted a very solid 15–7–3 record, a GAA of 3.35 and save percentage of .898 until January 1995. Then on January 26, Lalime signed a contract with the Penguins, who then assigned him to the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL. He struggled with the Lumberjacks, with a 7–10–4 record and a 4.44 GAA and save percentage of .882.

In 1995–96, Patrick remained with the Lumberjacks, and helped lead the team to the playoffs with a 20–12–7 record, 3.86 GAA and save percentage of .893 in 41 games. He was recalled to the Penguins twice in December 1995 and served as a backup goalie for 9 games, but never saw any action. He also served as a backup for the Penguins in the playoffs for four games and did not participate in Cleveland's playoff run.

NHL years

First debuts

Lalime went back to Cleveland for a 3rd season in 1996–97 and remained with the Lumberjacks until early November. The Penguins then called him up and Lalime made his NHL debut on November 16 against the New York Rangers, as he replaced Ken Wregget midway through the game, allowing 3 goals on 14 shots in an 8–3 loss. Lalime's next appearance was on December 6, replacing Wregget after the 1st period down 2–0, but Lalime made 16 saves and the Penguins rebounded for a 5–3 win, giving him his first career victory. Lalime was given the start the next night against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and he responded with 30 saves in a 5–3 victory. Lalime would go on to set an NHL record with the longest unbeaten streak to begin a career (16 games with a 14–0–2 record) before suffering his first defeat on January 23, a 4–3 OT loss to the Colorado Avalanche. During the streak, Lalime recorded his first shutout, a 4–0 win over the San Jose Sharks on December 13, and had a 49 save performance against the Calgary Flames on January 21, a 4–2 Penguins victory. After the streak ended, Lalime cooled off for the rest of the season and finished off with a 21–12–2 record, 2.94 GAA and a save percentage of .913. With Cleveland, Lalime was 6–6–2 with a 3.24 GAA. He dressed as the backup to Ken Wregget during the Penguins 5 playoff games that year.

In 1997–98, Lalime and the Penguins could not agree on a contract, and he spent the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL, appearing in 31 games and posting a 10–10–9 record with a team leading GAA of 2.61 and .918 save percentage. On March 24, 1998, the Penguins traded his rights to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for Sean Pronger, but Lalime stayed with the Griffins, and played in 1 playoff game, allowing 4 goals in an OT loss.

In 1998–99, he failed to make the Mighty Ducks team during the pre-season, and the club assigned him to the Kansas City Blades of the IHL. Lalime rewrote the teams record book with a 39–20–4 record, a 3.01 GAA and a save percentage of .900. He was named IHL goaltender of the month for March and earned a first team all-star selection after leading the league in wins, minutes played (3789) and saves (1708). In the playoffs, Lalime went 1–2 with a 2.08 GAA as Kansas City lost to the Long Beach Ice Dogs in the first round.

enator fame

The Mighty Ducks traded Lalime to the Ottawa Senators for Ted Donato and Antti-Jussi Niemi on June 18, and he opened the 1999–2000 NHL season as a Senator as he and Ron Tugnutt would split duties. Lalime began his Sens career with a 3–0 shutout victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on October 2. He would go on and have a solid season with a 19–14–3 record, a GAA of 2.33 and save percentage of .905. The Sens would trade Tugnutt to Pittsburgh in March for Tom Barrasso, and Lalime would serve as his backup for the remainder of the season. Lalime dressed for 6 playoff games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but did not see any action as the Sens were put out in the 1st round.

The Senators gave Lalime the starting job in 2000–01, and he responded with a 36–19–5 record, 2.35 GAA, and a save percentage of .914 and helped the Sens to winning the Northeast Division, despite missing 10 games with a sprained left MCL in mid-October. He was named NHL Player of the Week twice (November 27-December 3 and February 12–18). In the playoffs, the Sens would meet the Leafs for the 2nd straight season, and Lalime played very well, with a GAA of 2.39, however the Sens struggled to score goals and were eliminated in 4 games.

In 2001–02 Lalime had a 27–24–8 record, 2.48 GAA and .903 save percentage. He was 2nd in the league with 7 shutouts and set a club record with a 149:41 shutout streak from October 23 to November 10. In the playoffs, the Sens faced off with the Philadelphia Flyers and were heavy underdogs, however, Lalime was unbeatable, as he allowed only 2 goals as Ottawa defeated the Flyers in 5 games. His GAA for the series was 0.40, and he had a .985 save percentage. In the 2nd round, the Sens met up with the Leafs for the 3rd straight year, and with a 5–0 game 1 win, Lalime tied an NHL playoff record with 4 shutouts. However the Leafs stormed back and eventually won the series in 7 games. Lalime finished the 2002 playoffs with a 7–5 record and a 1.39 GAA.

In 2002–03, the Senators won the Presidents Trophy for having the best regular season record, and Lalime led the way with a 39–20–7 record, 2.16 GAA and .911 save percentage. He was 2nd in the NHL in wins, shutouts (8), 4th in minutes (3943) and 5th in GAA. He appeared in his first all-star game on February 2 after Ed Belfour pulled out with an injury. He made 18 saves on 19 shots in 25 minutes, then he allowed 3 goals during the shootout and took the loss. He broke his own record for shutout streak with 184:06 from January 9–18. In the playoffs, he helped the Sens defeat the New York Islanders in 5 games, then the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games, before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils in 7 games in the Eastern Conference Final. Lalime had an 11–7 record and GAA of 1.82 during the playoffs.

In 2003–04, Lalime finished with a 25–23–7 record with a 2.29 GAA and save percentage of .905. In the opening round of the playoffs, the Sens would meet their Battle of Ontario opponents, the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 4th time in 5 years. Lalime struggled during the series, allowing the opening goal in every game, and despite the Senators heavily outshooting the Leafs, the series was tied after 6 games. In game 7, Lalime allowed 2 soft goals to Joe Nieuwendyk, and after the 1st period he was pulled out of the game with the Sens losing 3–0. They would eventually lose 4–1 and lost to the Leafs for the 4th straight time in the playoffs. It marked the end of Lalime's playing time in Ottawa.

Recent years

After acquiring star goaltender Dominik Hašek via free agency, the Senators decided to trade Lalime to the St. Louis Blues for a 4th round conditional pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft on June 27, 2004. Lalime was set to be the Blues starter during the 2004–05 season, however the lockout wiped out the season, and Lalime did not play any hockey that year.

During the 2005–06 NHL season, he earned his first win with the Blues on October 11 against the Chicago Blackhawks, making 32 saves in a 4–1 victory. However, this was a season to forget for Lalime, as he finished the year with a 4–18–8 record, 3.64 GAA and a .881 save percentage. He also spent a part of the season in the AHL, where he posted a record of 6–6–1, 2.86 GAA and .903 save percentage with the Peoria Rivermen. On April 2, Lalime played his final game as a Blue, as he suffered a torn ACL that had him out for the remainder of the season.

On July 1, 2006, Patrick was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks to a one year, $700,000 contract, likely to be the backup to Nikolai Khabibulin. He ended up being injured just before training camp with a herniated disk. In his debut as a Blackhawk on February 7, 2006, Lalime stopped 34 shots and shutout the Vancouver Canucks as Chicago won the game 3–0. He went 4–6–1 in 12 games during the regular season with a 3.07 GAA and a .896 save percentage. His play with the Blackhawks was good enough for the club to re-sign him to another 1 year contract, this one worth $950,000.

On July 1, 2008, Patrick was signed by the Buffalo Sabres to a two-year, $2 million contract. He will most likely play backup to Ryan Miller.

Records

*On May 2, 2002, Lalime became the fourteenth goaltender in NHL history to record four shutouts in one postseason, with a 27-save, 5–0 victory, in Toronto over the Maple Leafs. The win gave Lalime's Senators a 1–0 lead in their Eastern Conference Semifinal series.
*Owns the Senators record for wins in a season (39 in 2002–03), and in a career (146), along with career playoff wins (21).

Awards

*Nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy (2008)

Mask creativity

Lalime is known for his distinguishing goalie mask theme - the use of cartoon eyes. His first mask in Pittsburgh featured a penguin with its eyes peeking through the ice. When he was traded to the Ottawa Senators, Lalime's mask featured the Warner Brothers cartoon character Marvin the Martian. The use of the character was inspired by the similarity of Marvin's costume to the logo of Lalime's former team, the Ottawa Senators. However, after a terrible St. Louis start (and getting sent to the minors), Lalime came back to the lineup with a completely different goalie mask which still featured the classic logo. This trend has continued in Chicago, where Lalime has the same theme going with his Blackhawks helmet. This time, Marvin features an Indian headdress.

Trivia

*Patrick and his wife, Marie-Helene Larocque, have three daughters: Liliana (2002), Rosemary (2004), and Evangeline (2007).
*On his spare time he likes to fly a helicopter (he got his license during the summer of 2006).
*During the lockout near Christmas time, he got some offers to go play in Europe but he decided to stay home and celebrate with family. If it had continued into another season he said he would have gone for sure.
*A ball park in his home town of St. Bonaventure was renamed 'Parc Patrick Lalime' in honor of Patrick.
*Patrick was ejected from the March 5, 2004 Ottawa-Philadelphia game for fighting with Flyers goaltender Robert Esche. Lalime received a minor penalty for leaving the crease, a major penalty for fighting and a game misconduct.

TV Guest Appearances

*RDS - May 2, 2007
*RDS - April 25, 2007
*TSN's Off The Record - April 19, 2007
*TSN's Off The Record - May 12, 2008

Career Statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

External links

* [http://www.patricklalime.com/main.html The Patrick Lalime Official Site]
*hockeydb|16316
* [http://www.freewebs.com/lalimefan/ Patrick Lalime Fan-Listing]