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Dominik Hasek used to set up a puck machine, aim it to fire just under the cross-bar and lie down in the crease. With pucks coming as fast as they could fly, Hasek would kick one of his legs in the air with perfect timing and stop the shots.The hockey world is full of similar stories of Haseks unique training regimen, and theres a seemingly unending highlight reel of show-stopping saves he made during his NHL career.Call him crazy, but also call him one of the best goaltenders in history.There was definitely a method to all of his madness, former NHL goaltender John Davidson said. (He could) make saves youre not supposed to make. He was quick, but he knew how to read plays and he could find a way to get it done by twisting his body and rolling over. Whatever it took, he got it done.A six-time Vezina Trophy winner as the top goaltender and two-time Hart Trophy winner as league MVP, Hasek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. On Tuesday night the Buffalo Sabres, with whom he had his best years, will retire his No. 39 before their game against the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup.In reflecting on Haseks career, former coaches and goaltending analysts love to explain how The Dominator became an all-time great. Just about everything about his style was unconventional, but he stopped the puck better than almost anyone to ever play the position.Playing in an era alongside Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur, Hasek stuck out like a sore thumb, according to goaltending analyst Justin Goldman of The Goalie Guild. Goldman said Haseks kinesthetic sense of how to control his muscles and mind and body set him apart.His ability to basically contort his body amidst the speed or the unpredictability of an NHL game at that time was at another level, Goldman said. He was able to be unconventional because he had the flexibility and he had the ability to contort and control his body in ways that no other goalie had at that time.Hasek, a native of the Czech Republic, was able to grow into his own style of goaltending, Goldman said, because he wasnt over-coached at a young age. Whereas most goalies follow a cookie-cutter approach, Hasek knew he could be himself by knowing his body, shooters tendencies and the flow of the game better than most.Even if his style looked complicated, his philosophy wasnt.I felt until the puck crosses the line, you still have the chance to do (something), Hasek said before going into the Hall of Fame.After parts of two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was stuck behind Ed Belfour, Hasek was traded to the Sabres and began to blossom in North America. It was there that he studied under the tutelage of goaltending coach Mitch Korn, who didnt try to change Haseks unique, all-over-the-crease style.Fortunately, I didnt understand English at that time, so I had no idea what was written about me in the papers what the coach is saying, Hasek said. I had a very good goalie coach in Buffalo when I came there, Mitch Korn. He knew that my style is not bad. He said, You just need to work on some other things to get you better.Korn said he and Hasek spent a lot of time improving skating and movement and handling the puck. Fundamentally, Korn worked on Haseks glove hand.Dom never closed his glove at the beginning, said Korn, whos now goaltending coach of the Washington Capitals. He used to just cradle the puck maybe a little bit like (Henrik) Lundqvist does today, and he learned how to close his glove and to catch a puck.More than anything, Korn said during Hall of Fame weekend, Hasek learned to be patient and make shooters react first. With his mental speed, that put him way ahead of the competition.Of course Hasek very rarely looked in control, even if he was. Davidson, now president of the Columbus Blue Jackets and chairman of the Hall of Fame selection committee, was an analyst when Hasek broke into the league and at first couldnt understand how he played.Over time, Davidson learned to appreciate how Hasek dropped his stick to pick up the puck with his blocker hand or how he barrel-rolled to get from post to post.That style, people look at it and go, Man thats just kind of like water running all over the place, Davidson said. It was not. Everything he did was by design. The more you studied him and watched him play, the more you saw that, you know what, he did that on purpose and for a reason, and it worked for how he played the game.Goldman, the author of The Power Within: Discovering the Path to Elite Goaltending, believes Hasek was underrated in his athleticism and intelligence.He literally was a genius, Goldman said. He loved to play chess, he was very, very competitive in chess. And if he wasnt a hockey player, he probably wouldve been able to score high enough on an IQ test to be in Mensa. ... He was basically like a goalie genius.Hasek didnt have to understand kinesthetic sense to have it. By ingraining so many habits into his goaltending, he became a Hall of Famer without over-thinking.It becomes such a routine and such a daily part of life that it becomes an unconscious skill, Goldman said. Its almost like a muscle memory.Hasek made memories by backstopping the Sabres to the 1999 Cup final at the tail end of his prime, during which he led the NHL in save percentage six straight years. He finished his career with 389 victories, a goals-against average of 2.20 and save percentage of .926.By beating Canada in the 1998 Olympics and sitting atop the NHL, Hasek became an idol to many goaltenders in the Czech Republic and elsewhere. Czechs Michal Neuvirth of the Sabres and Petr Mrazek of the Red Wings, who will start in goal Tuesday night in Buffalo, are among those who looked up to him.But neither Neuvirth nor Mrazek plays like Hasek, who Davidson referred to as a rubber man. Certain aspects of Haseks goaltending can be followed, but Davidson and Goldman dont believe anyone can mimic him completely.Its basically impossible to replicate that because his genetic biomechanics, his genetic framework or blueprint is completely unique to himself, Goldman said. No one else is ever going to have the slinky for a spine or that genetic flexibility.The closest goalie currently in the NHL may be Jonathan Quick, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings whose movements between the pipes arent like most of his contemporaries. But Hasek was one of a kind.Its almost spiritual in nature, Goldman said. To a goaltending guru, he was a work of art. ...Youre just not going to see another goaltender like that.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Cheap Stars Jerseys Authentic . Johnson shared an update after his surgery Tuesday on Twitter. He also wrote, "now lets get on the grind." The running back told The Tennessean he was having surgery in Pensacola, Fla. Wholesale Stars Jerseys . Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. http://www.cheapstarsjerseys.com/. It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The 21-year-old Canadian earned a spot in his third career ATP final on Saturday thanks to his first Top 10 victory of the new tennis season, a 6-4, 6-4 win over world no. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain. Cheap Adidas Stars Jerseys . -- The defending Canadian womens curling champions squandered an opportunity to take sole possession of first place in the standings Tuesday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.NEW YORK -- A happy homecoming for Jimmer Fredette and Michael Malone was another miserable night in a turbulent season for the New York Knicks. Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night. Gay and Isaiah Thomas each finished with 20 points for the Kings, who shook off a 13-point deficit and the loss of DeMarcus Cousins late in regulation to salvage the finale of a four-game road trip. Cousins had 19 points and 14 rebounds before limping off with a strained hip flexor with about 3 1/2 minutes left. The Kings made Malone a winner in his first game as a head coach in New York, where he spent four seasons as a Knicks assistant. It was the first time his mother watched him coach an NBA game in person. "Being from New York and having my family here and this is where I started in the NBA, its like a little kids dream," Malone said. "To come back here, and as a head coach, and get a win against the Knicks, it is an unbelievable moment for me, my mother, my father and my family." Carmelo Anthony had 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks but flopped at the finish, missing a potential winning shot in regulation before blowing a layup on the first possession of overtime. Playing 48 minutes, he was scoreless in the extra session. Gay followed Anthonys missed layup with his 3-pointer, Derrick Williams added a basket that pushed it to 98-93 with 2:28 left, and the Knicks never really had a chance to catch up from there. New York finished the first half at 20-32. The reigning Atlantic Division champions have already lost more games than all of last season and continue to battle injuries and speculation that coach Mike Woodsons job is in jeopardy. "I didnt expect us to be in the situation that were in right now. If somebody would have told us that before the season, Id have put any amount of money that they were lying," Anthony said. "But were in this situation right now and weve got to fight through it." The Knicks played without J.R. Smith, who broke a ccheekbone Sunday at Oklahoma City and was uncomfortable with the protective facemask he was supposed to wear, which he didnt receive until Wednesday.dddddddddddd Iman Shumpert then left in the second half with a strained left hip flexor. Amare Stoudemire scored 20 points off the bench and Tyson Chandler had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks in a game Anthony had called a "must-win." "We cant go back and get this game," Woodson said. "We didnt finish the game. I think we played well in spurts. We just didnt get it done." Stoudemire had three straight New York baskets midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Knicks an 87-83 advantage with 4:59 remaining. Fredette twice hit 3-pointers to make it a one-possession game, and Gay, after having a jumper go in and out, got another chance and knocked it down that time to tie it with 20 seconds to go. Anthony scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Knicks cruised to a 33-22 lead after one, hitting 70 per cent of their shots. But Fredette, the college scoring star from BYU whose pro career has been largely underwhelming, answered back with 15 points in the second, matching his high for a game this season. "It was a lot of fun," said Fredette, a native of Glens Falls. "You dream about this, growing up not too far from here, and this is the best arena in the world. It was an amazing experience tonight. But I was just happy we got this win and go into the All-Star break on a high note." New York built a 54-48 halftime lead on 57.5 per cent shooting, but was just 7 of 23 (30 per cent) in the third quarter, with the Kings cutting it to 74-72 entering the fourth. NOTES: Smith didnt want to play without the mask for fear of further injury, acknowledging his choice to sit out was a "somewhat selfish decision." He said he will have to wear the mask for a few weeks and hopes to get it adjusted before play resumes next week. ... Malone worked for four different head coaches in New York. ... The Knicks honoured Hall of Famer Bernard King, who held the franchises single-game scoring record with 60 points until Anthony broke it with 62 last month against Charlotte. ' ' '