KHL goalie Mark Dekanich makes amazing desperation stick-save (Video)

As a goalie, you're taught to never give up on a play. Why? Because, even when you're as out of position as you can possibly be, so long as any part of you is in the way of even a sliver of the net, there's an outside chance that the shooter will manage to hit it, turning you from a helpless bystander into a highlight reel machine.

Case in point: KHL netminder Mark Dekanich, a 2006 fifth-round draft pick of the Nashville Predators now playing for KHL Medveščak Zagreb. Check out this incredible save, which may or may not be aided by incredible fortune:

Deked right out of his shorts and the crease, Dekanich reaches back to get his stick in the way, and he's fortunate in that the shooter has to pull the puck back above the goal line, giving him time to do so. But he's even more fortunate that the shot stays along the ice, and Dekanich's desperation save is rewarded: the puck hits the stick and slides right to him. He covers up with his glove, cementing the highlight-reel save.

The shooter's disbelief is obvious. How in the heck is that not in the net? I wish we could see around the linesman furiously waving "no goal", because that's one of my favorite faces in hockey.