They stop pucks (but drive you crazy in the process).(hockey goalies)(Statistical Data Included)

Goalies. You can't live with all their quirks and superstitions, but you certainly can't live without them down the stretch and in the playoffs when you need a big save.

Rangers G.M. Glen Sather has been watching a lot of goaltenders in a last-ditch effort to make the playoffs after his team lost Mike Richter for the season with a right knee injury. And he's not alone: Penguins G.M. Craig Patrick and Blues G.M. Larry Pleau are going equally wacky trying to improve their goaltending.

These G.M.s are watching goalies and shaking like bobbing-head dolls as they watch San Jose's Steve Shields, Montreal's Jeff Hackett, Florida's Trevor Kidd and Anaheim's Guy Hebert. There's doubt any of these netminders are a better bet than the Penguins' Garth Snow or the Blues' Roman Turek.

The thought of evaluating a goaltending prospect causes Sather to laugh because usually the only person who knows exactly what to look for in a goaltender is another goaltender. But his situation could have been a lot different if plans had come together for him in last June's draft.

"Last year I had Anders Hedberg follow Roman Cechmanek for the whole winter," says Sather, then with the Oilers. "We only had Tommy Salo in Edmonton, with nobody else in the minors. I had been given a tip on Cechmanek, and I wanted Anders to watch him as closely as possible to make sure he was for real."

Cechmanek, 30, has been for real this season. But not for the Oilers or the Rangers. The Flyers selected him in the sixth round of the draft, and he has been a marvel in his first NHL season, posting eight shutouts and a goals-against average of below 2.00.

But even the Flyers weren't certain just what they had. They began the season with holdover Brian Boucher retaining his No. 1 status in goal. But with Boucher struggling, Cechmanek got his chance and made the most of it.