The Islanders, the Eastern Conference's likely eighth seed in the upcoming playoffs, play at Philadelphia tonight. The Islanders (35-27-10-4) are 3-1 against Tampa Bay this season and 1-3 against Philadelphia. As if a game with the rugged Flyers weren't enough of a challenge, the Islanders will be without goalie Rick DiPietro. The 22-year-old caught a flu bug after Tuesday night's 3-0 victory over Washington, DiPietro's second straight shutout, and did not make the trip to Philadelphia. Garth Snow, 14-15-5 this season, is expected to start. Wade Dubielewicz, called up from Bridgeport yesterday, will be Snow's backup. DiPietro has started the Islanders' last 10 games.
"He's playing unbelievable right now," rookie forward Trent Hunter said of DiPietro, who has led the Islanders to a 5-2-2-1 record in their last 10 games, including three straight victories. "His confidence is really up right now, but so is everyone's."
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Stirling said forward Shawn Bates, who missed Tuesday's victory over Washington with a strained groin, is day-to-day. "We have to be real careful," Stirling said. The coach said he did not expect Bates to miss a significant number of games but added, "We're not going to rush him back." ... The Islanders spent most of practice working on their recently non-existent power-play. The Islanders rank 18th in the league in power-play goals (15.9 percent) and have not scored one during their three-game winning streak. They were 0-for-5 Tuesday night . . . Flyers center Jeremy Roenick will return after missing six weeks with a broken jaw. He was hit by a shot from the Rangers' Boris Mironov on Feb. 12.
"He's playing unbelievable right now," rookie forward Trent Hunter said of DiPietro, who has led the Islanders to a 5-2-2-1 record in their last 10 games, including three straight victories. "His confidence is really up right now, but so is everyone's."
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Stirling said forward Shawn Bates, who missed Tuesday's victory over Washington with a strained groin, is day-to-day. "We have to be real careful," Stirling said. The coach said he did not expect Bates to miss a significant number of games but added, "We're not going to rush him back." ... The Islanders spent most of practice working on their recently non-existent power-play. The Islanders rank 18th in the league in power-play goals (15.9 percent) and have not scored one during their three-game winning streak. They were 0-for-5 Tuesday night . . . Flyers center Jeremy Roenick will return after missing six weeks with a broken jaw. He was hit by a shot from the Rangers' Boris Mironov on Feb. 12.
