BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Dominik Hasek is not a goaltender anymore. He hasnt taken his customary place between the posts since his last game on Feb. 27, 2011 for Spartak Moscow of the KHL. He has thought and talked about playing since, but never followed through. "My equipment is still in the same bag," he said. Even when the 49-year-old plays with friends once or twice a week, Hasek plays as a defenceman. Forty years as a goalie was enough. And its unlikely the man nicknamed "The Dominator" can capture the kind of performances that made him one of the best goaltenders in his era, alongside Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. Hasek played his final NHL game five years ago, and then officially retired in 2012. Its taken time since he left the league for his true place in NHL history to come into focus. Six Vezina Trophies as the leagues best goaltender, two Hart Trophies as MVP, one Olympic gold medal, six first-team all-star selections and two Stanley Cups -- one as a starter -- dont even tell the whole story. Few goalies during the 1990s and 2000s could do what Hasek did to opponents. "He mentally and physically intimidated you," said St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who beat Hasek in the 1999 Cup final with the Stars. "I think there were games that you knew you were never going to score on him, and I think it was very discouraging at times. I think thats a great quality. Id never seen the guy quit on a puck, Id never seen the guy give up on anything. And thats hard to play against." Haseks .922 save percentage is the best of any goalie since the league started keeping track in 1982-83. His 2.02 goals-against average is the best in the modern era, slightly lower than Ken Dryden and Brodeur. Brodeur has many more shutouts, but when Hasek was on his game, he had the ability to almost will teams to win. "He makes a team believe," ex-Sabres and current Stars coach Lindy Ruff said in a phone interview. "You just start believing that with him in goal you can win any given night." Ruff recalled times when Hasek was so locked in that "we really only had to score one. And if we got two, it was almost guaranteed-win night." Hasek, who is being inducted into the Sabres hall of fame Saturday night and will be the first NHL player to have the number 39 retired next season, wanted victories more than trophies or honours. "I want to be remembered as a competitor who gave the teams always (the chance) to win the game," Hasek said Friday at First Niagara Center. "As a great goalie, as the person or goalie who gave the team (a chance) to always win the game. Thats what was hockey for me. I enjoyed my time, I enjoyed when I played here and any time I step on the ice my goal is to win the game and try to help my teammates win the game." Hasek will forever trail Brodeur (three Cups with the New Jersey Devils) and Roy (four, two each with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche), and one of his two in Detroit came as Chris Osgoods backup. But Hasek could potentially have won another title in 1999, had it not been for Brett Hulls controversial skate-in-the-crease overtime series winner in Game 6. A Cup there would have burnished Haseks legacy even more, but its not something that he laments 15 years later. "Its part of the life," he said. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you come close and you dont win it the whole way. It was an unfortunate night for us, it was something disappointing, but for me it wasnt end of my life." Far from it. In fact, Hasek teamed up with Hull to win the Cup in 2002 with the Red Wings, posting six shutouts along the way. "Winning a Stanley Cup anywhere, its hard," said Sabres coach Ted Nolan, who spoke with Hasek Friday for the first time since Nolan was fired in Buffalo in 1997. "Its hard and all the stars have to line up. They didnt quite line up here but he went and lined it up in Detroit pretty well." In 1999, Hasek had two shutouts and a playoff-best .939 save percentage in almost getting the Sabres their first championship in franchise history. Stars centre Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy, but it easily couldve gone to Hasek even in a losing effort. "We were a huge underdog, obviously, going through the playoffs," Ruff said. "I thought that our team really fed off of Doms performance for the most part. He wouldve been able to take a team that wasnt supposed to get there and win it." Haseks dominant prime lasted six seasons, from 1993-94 through 1998-99, when he led the league in save percentage every single time and came away with five of his six career Vezinas. Asked about those years, Hasek smiled and brushed off the notion that it mightve been the best stretch any goalie has ever played. "I dont think about this that way," Hasek said. "I got a chance to prove, to become starting goalie and after that I had, I dont know, six, seven years, which we had great teams, we made it every year to the playoffs except one of nine years." Hasek proved much more than that, something that will more than likely be validated with induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. "For me its a no-brainer," Ruff said. "I think he definitely stands as one of the best. He was on the cutting edge of the way a lot of goaltenders play. Always looking for a way to be better. He could take a team a long ways with the way he played." Hasek isnt carrying teams anymore, instead living back home in the Czech Republic and working "a little bit" in hockey and also in business. As much as hed appreciate it, making the Hall of Fame was never his goal, and thats not his focus even now. "There are new goals in life and always something new to prove. The hockey career is something what is behind me," Hasek said. "What great years, what fantastic things to do something what you enjoy, what you love to do, and be very well paid and be around the people who you love and spend great time with them. However its part of the life that every professional player has to retire some day, and you wake up and you enjoy your life different ways." Vapormax Flyknit 3 Nz . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. Air Vapormax 97 Womens . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday. http://www.airvapormaxnz.com/. The NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year will be named at the NFL Honours Award show on February 1. The 23-year-old 2013 second-rounder out of Oregon becomes the third Bills linebacker to win the honour after Jim Haslett (1979) and Shane Conlan (1987. Nike Tn Shoes Nz . TSN2 December 18 Knicks at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 December 18 Thunder at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 December 21 Pacers at Timberwolves 7pm et/4pm pt. TSN2 December 23 Timberwolves at Cavaliers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 December 25 Wizards at Knicks 12pm et/9am pt TSN December 25 Thunder at Spurs 2:30pm et/11:30pt TSN December 25 Cavaliers at Heat 5pm et/2pm pt TSN December 25 Lakers at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN December 25 Warriors at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN NBA on TSN - January Date Game Time Network January 1 Kings at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 3 Jazz at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 5 Nuggets at Timberwolves 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 7 Rockets at Cavaliers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN January 7 Suns at Timberwolves 9:30pm et/6:30 pt. TSN January 9 Bulls at Wizards 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 9 Cavaliers at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 13 Timberwolves at Pacers 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 January 15 Thunder at Rockets 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 15 Cavaliers at Lakers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 16 Cavaliers at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 22 NBA All-Star Selection Show 7pm et/4pm pt TSN2 January 22 Spurs at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 22 Nets at Clippers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 January 25 Heat at Bulls 1pm et/10am pt TSN January 25 Thunder at Cavaliers 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt TSN January 26 Timberwolves at Thunder 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 29 Nuggets at Grizzlies 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 January 29 Bulls at Lakers 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 NBA on TSN - February Date Game Time Network February 5 Clippers vs. Nike Off White Vapormax Nz .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday.Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Cam Ward made 23 saves to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. Brad Malone and Eric Staal each scored a goal for the Hurricanes, who snapped a three-game slide. I think we did a good job controlling the gaps and containing their big players, said Ward. We were really good on the penalty kill tonight and that was a big part of winning the game. The Flyers lost their fourth straight game on this eight-game road trip, and have appeared to survive a scare after captain Claude Giroux went down with a left leg injury. Early in the third period, Giroux was chasing a puck down in the right corner of the Carolina end and got tangled up with Justin Faulk. As Faulk was putting hit left leg down, his skate caught the back of Girouxs left ankle, and it appeared that Giroux was bleeding through his equipment. Giroux was tended to on the ice by a trainer and eventually taken into the locker room. After the game, though, the team announced that the cut wasnt bad, and Giroux is probable for Saturdays game in New Jersey. Im not a doctor or anything but I got pretty luccky there, said Giroux.dddddddddddd I know I got lucky because that was pretty scary. Chris VandeVelde scored the lone goal for Philadelphia, with Steven Mason turning away 24 shots. Malone scored on a snap shot at 13:41 of the first for his first goal of the season. The Hurricanes moved their advantage to 2-0 just 41 seconds into the second period, as a turnover saw Jordan Staal eventually send a wrister on net from the slot, with Eric Staal putting home the rebound from the left side. Philly cut its deficit to one at the 8:45 mark of the third as Vincent Lecavalier skated in down the middle and left the puck at the top of the left circle for VandeVelde, who slid over to the slot and snapped it home for his second of the year. The Flyers pulled Mason from the net with just under two minutes to play, but Ward made a couple of stops late in the game to preserve the win. Game Notes The Hurricanes host Boston on Sunday ... Carolina was 0-for-2 on the power play, while Philadelphia went 0-for-3 ... Carolina forward Jeff Skinner missed the game with flu-like symptoms. ' ' '