There may be an increasing amount of uncertainty surrounding the New York Islanders’ goaltending situation, but this much is certain: Dwayne Roloson was at the top of his game this past Monday night.

Roloson, the former Sabres backup, stopped 58 of the 61 shots he faced in a 4-3 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 61 shots were the most ever faced by an Islanders goalie, eclipsing the old mark of 56 set in March 2007 at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.

The goaltender for the Isles in that historic game was Rick DiPietro, who has started his return from knee surgery by beginning to practice.

Once DiPietro gets back to game action, it will leave Islanders’ general manager Garth Snow, himself a former goalie, with an interesting dilemma: who should be kept as DiPietro’s backup, Roloson or Martin Biron?

As fill-ins for DiPietro, the tandem of former Buffalo Sabres hasn’t exactly instilled memories of 1999-2000, the year Biron spelled an injured Dominik Hasek and made 41 starts with Roloson acting as backup.

This year, with Roloson getting into 14 games and Biron playing in 11, the Islanders have the 11th worst goals-against average in the NHL. Individually, they’ve even been more so-so - Biron entered Wednesday’s action ranked 40th with a 2.85 goals-against figure, while Roloson was one position behind at 2.86.

Biron, despite an increase in the number of rumors having him shipped elsewhere (including a groundswell for him to return to Buffalo), has been living in the moment.

“It’s been really great for Rollie and I to go in,” Biron told the National Post during the Islanders trip to Toronto. “I think guys have really responded to that situation in a positive manner. … When Ricky comes back, we’ll see what happens. There’s a lot of options for the organization.”

Logic would dictate that Biron would be the one to be dealt. Roloson, who recently turned 40, is earning $2 million this year and is slated to get $3 million in 2010-11. Biron, at 31, can be considered a bona fide starting candidate and, with only a one-year $1.4 million contract, could be an attractive bargain.

Roloson, meanwhile, didn’t discuss his marketability in Toronto, but did reflect on the biggest night of his career.

“They had a lot of shots, but most of them were from the outside and I was able to see the puck,” he said. “Our defense did a good job of keeping the Leafs to the perimeter.”

………

Speaking of goalies, Ottawa’s Pascal Leclaire had to leave last Saturday’s game against the Sabres due to an injury. But two days later, the Senators netminder wasn’t only out of the crease – he was off the ice - when he sustained an injury which will keep him out of action for a month.

Leclaire, who was replaced by Brian Elliott because of a lower body injury, was on the bench Monday night when he got smacked in the cheek by an errant puck. He suffered a fractured cheek and required surgery.

“I was talking to one of the trainers, chit-chatting, and it hit me like a baseball bat,” Leclaire explained. “I was dazed for a while, but I didn’t (pass out). It was a pretty good blow.”

In addition to mending the fracture, he may also require cosmetic surgery, but the 27-year old has remained in good humor.

“Maybe I’ll look at some calf or ab (abdominal) implants, too,” he quipped. “I’ll have to see what’s cool in Hollywood now and make my choice.”

It must be a new age when goalies, in addition to getting hurt while playing the game, are also at risk while watching too.

………

www.twitter.com/mikehaim