Better Leighton than never after years of uncertainty for goalie

ONCE, AMID A career that has been until now an incredible string of disappointments and lost opportunities, Michael Leighton stopped 98 pucks in a single playoff game.

And lost 3-2.

"So was that the low point?" he was asked the other day, as the Flyers prepared to face another of his ex-teams in the Stanley Cup finals.

"Nah," he said. "I faced 101 shots in that game. We almost won. Not even close."

Not even close. Imagine. Imagine, if you can, the ride that has taken the Flyers goalie to this point. Imagine being traded by the team that drafted you before you got much of a chance, or the team that traded for you then dispatching you immediately to the minors, then releasing you. Imagine signing with a team because they said they needed you, only to, once again, be sent to the American Hockey League before you got much of a chance to compete for a spot with the big club.

Imagine dragging a wife and young family around from Norfolk, Va., to Portland, Maine, and points in between, chasing a dream more elusive than any puck thrown your way. Imagine shattering the minor league record for saves that late April night in 2008 for the Albany River Rats, playing through three periods and five overtimes of that playoff game against the Philadelphia Phantoms, standing in your crease for 5 hours, 38 minutes of actual time and 142 minutes, 58 seconds of playing time.

Imagine allowing Jared Ross a tying goal with 2 minutes of regulation remaining. And then allowing the winning goal to Ryan Potulny.

Imagine, if you can, that not being your low point.

"When then?" he was asked.

"Probably the year I got traded from Chicago," he said. "They had split organizations with Florida and Buffalo. We had a really good start, we had a really good team and then we lost a lot of guys to injury and call-ups and everything went downhill. I played the whole year in Rochester, never called up once, and I was splitting time with Jean-Marc Pelletier. I didn't play well, I didn't feel great, we didn't have a good team. From there, it was where am I going to go from here? Buffalo just let me go. Didn't even qualify me.

"That was obviously a kick to the face."